


One Way Ride

by jenunjen96816



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Out of Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-09-07 23:50:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 30,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8821204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenunjen96816/pseuds/jenunjen96816
Summary: Tobin is a gung-ho law enforcement agent and Alex is a free-spirited surfer girl. The two of them find themselves tangled up and falling in love amidst a backdrop of bank robberies, beaches and big waves.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this story a while ago, but I somehow lost all of my stories so I am going to try to repost again.
> 
> AU/OOC. This is a takeoff of one of my favorite crime/thriller/action movies (if you’ve ready some of my other stories you know I have a soft spot for that genre). I won’t mention what movie this is based on since I won’t be sticking exactly to the original storyline (but I am interested to see if anyone can figure it out). Also, I will also be altering the emphasis of the story to make it more about the relationship between Tobin and Alex, but the short synopsis is that Tobin is a gung-ho FBI Agent who is trying to make her mark. Alex is a surfer girl who is free-spirited yet guarded due to a heartbreaking past, and she gets caught up in a case that Tobin is working.
> 
> A few disclaimers: There are references to law enforcement in here. I don’t know much about law enforcement, but the references are just there to set context and drive the story. Also, this story will contain some violence in it, as well as some adult language and mature themes (it’s a crime/action/thriller/drama story after all).
> 
> Also, as a heads up – there will be a few chapters of setup before Tobin and Alex actually meet, but I will try to write in a way that keeps the story interesting and also moves the story along quickly. One other thing - some of the USWNT characters are antagonists. 
> 
> As always, feel free to comment. And most importantly, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the story.

“Ready! Set! Go!” The instructor blew the whistle.

Tobin whirled around and raised her gun. The clock was ticking, and points were on the line. The first target in the form of a criminal holding a gun popped up twenty feet in front of her, and she immediately put it down with a single shot to the head. A second criminal target popped up to the left. Another single shot and that one went down as well. Two more criminal targets popped up to the right. Tobin dropped to one knee and fired off two more shots, and both targets went down. Another target popped up, this one to left. Tobin pivoted and went to fire but registered that the target was in the form of a frightened unarmed civilian, so she held her fire. A split-second later another criminal target appeared right behind the civilian target. Tobin fired at the criminal target and landed a bulls-eye in the head.

Three minutes and fifty rounds later, Tobin holstered her weapon. Around her were fifty spent criminal targets, each one put down with a single shot to the head. The four civilian targets that had popped up were unmarked.

“100 percent, Heath!” the instructor yelled. He gave Tobin a thumbs up, and Tobin smiled back. “You’ve got two minutes to rest, then onto the hand-to-hand combat course”, the instructor yelled. Tobin nodded her head and allowed herself a couple more seconds of smile, and then she closed her eyes and exhaled deeply, preparing herself for the next challenge.  
 

********  
 

WHOOOSHHHH!!!  
The wave surged behind the beautiful brunette, and she reveled in the feeling of weightlessness as the wave took hold of her. She charged down the face and then stalled at the bottom, shifted her weight slightly and applied pressure to her back foot, carving out a solid bottom turn. The wave, slightly taller than her, pitched over her as she finished the turn, and then it propelled her forward as it collapsed into foamy whiteness behind her. The brunette raced to stay just slightly ahead of the white water, gliding up and down the face of the wave. She rode for maybe thirty seconds, and then, when the wave started to lose steam, she turned towards the horizon and propelled herself over the crest of the wave, landing behind it. She settled down onto her stomach on her board and watched the back of the wave she had just ridden as it continued its journey towards shore. As she watched, she took in the scenery of the beach and then the Los Angeles skyline behind her, and her thoughts started to wander. She had endured a lot through her twenty-six years on this earth, and she often found herself struggling to find peace and happiness, but she had found both with surfing. All of the pain from the tragedy that had befallen her disappeared as soon as she paddled out into the water. Out here, in the ocean, amidst the waves, she felt free, even if for only the moments that she was in the water. Out here, riding waves, nothing else mattered.


	2. Chapter 2

“Carmen – send her in”, the voice came through the intercom.

The woman at the reception desk stood up and opened a door at the back of the reception area. “Go on in”, she said with a smile. Tobin stood up, thanked her, ran her hands over her suit, and walked into the office.

“Tobin Heath – first day in L.A., welcome aboard”, the woman behind the large oak desk said briskly. “I’m Jill Ellis, Director of this office. I’ve been going over your file. Top ten in your class at Quantico. Particularly high scores in marksmanship, hand-to hand combat, and intuition.” Jill looked at Tobin and said, “That’s quite something. In fact, it would be really quite something if you knew that it meant nothing. But you don’t know, because you’re too green to know that you know nothing. Understand?”

“Uh…yes, ma’am”, Tobin answered, unsure of exactly what to say.

Jill stood up and walked out of her office, motioning for Tobin to follow her. “So, here we are. Bank robbery capital of the world”, Jill continued as they walked around the bank robbery section of the Los Angeles Federal Bureau of Investigation office. People were scurrying about, carrying out various tasks.

“1297 this year, up from 1134 last year”, Tobin said.

“That’s right. And we nailed over 1000 of them.” Jill stopped, turned and looked at Tobin. “Do know how we did it? Solid crime scene work and careful analysis.” She paused for a moment and then said, “Let’s be clear about something, Heath: we are not a bunch of cowboys. Cowboys don’t solve crimes. Smart, methodical, thorough investigators solve crimes. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good”, Jill said, and then pointed towards a door. “Now, if you go through that door, you will be in the fitness area. Find the lead instructor in the red hat, and he will introduce you to your partner.” Jill turned around and walked off. Wow, she’s going to be a joy to work for, Tobin thought, as she headed through the door. She ended up in a large space that looked like a combination of a gymnasium and an indoor soccer arena. She spotted the lead instructor in the red hat and walked over to him. As she approached she could hear him talking with a woman. Or rather, the woman was ranting at the instructor. She looked to be in her mid-thirties and was wearing a blindfold. Tobin approached and tapped the instructor on the shoulder. The instructor turned around, acknowledged Tobin and held up a hand for her to wait quietly while the woman continued to rant.

“I’ve been on the job twelve years. Cracked over two hundred cases. Fired my piece over thirty times in the line of duty. Never once have I seen the correlation of what any of that has to do with being able to kick a soccer ball into a net while blindfolded." The woman pointed in the direction of a goal about twenty yards away and then continued. "Anyway, soccer's a stupid sport to being with. And speaking of stupid, to add to that, I’ve been assigned some young rookie hotshot soccer punk straight out of the University of North Carolina, some Toby, Tober, Tarheel, Topper Harley, whatever the fuck her name is-“

“Hey Abby”, the instructor interrupted. Abby stopped talking and removed her blindfold. She looked around for a moment and then her eyes settled on Tobin. She froze for a second, and then appraised Tobin with squinted eyes. “Meet your new partner”, the instructor said with a smirk and then walked away.

Abby stared at Tobin for another moment and then huffed. “Wambach. Abby Wambach”, she said by way of introduction and stuck out her hand.  
“Punk”, Tobin said, taking her hand and smiling obnoxiously. “Soccer Punk.”

Abby stared at her for a moment and then turned around and launched the soccer ball towards the net. It clanked against the left side post. “Fuck”, she cursed, and Tobin bit her own lip to keep from laughing.

   
********  
 

Just a few miles away, a windowless nondescript Ford Econoline van was headed for the First National Bank on South Main Street and 7th Ave in downtown Los Angeles. They were three minutes away from destination.

“Alright, suit up!” the leader commanded. The four robbers, all wearing white T-shirts, donned bulletproof vests. Then came the masks. Each robber donned the mask of a famous queen from history or pop culture: Queen Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots, Cleopatra, and Daenerys Targaryen. After putting on their masks, the robbers put on loose-fitting shirts over their bulletproof vests that matched their character. Then the robbers checked their weapons: pump-action shot guns for everyone. The leader, Elizabeth, also packed a 9MM pistol.

“We’re here”, Mary said and put the car in park. The robbers grabbed their guns and some empty duffel bags.

“Alright, Queen Team, let’s go!” Elizabeth barked. The robbers exited the van and rushed into the bank.

“Everybody down!” Elizabeth yelled and fired a warning shot at the ceiling. The sound boomed in the bank, and people screamed and hit the floor. The security guard near the front door grabbed Mary's ponytail, but Mary hit with the butt of the shotgun to his jaw, and he went down. Then she headed to the back of the bank, while Cleopatra covered the left side. Daenerys went behind the tellers on the right side and told them to unlock their cash drawers, while Elizabeth hopped up on a counter.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We are the Queen Team, and we require just a few minutes of your time”, Elizabeth announced. She surveyed the room, shotgun in hand. Everyone was down on the ground, faces to the floor. No one moved. Elizabeth motioned to Cleopatra, and she joined Daenerys behind the tellers. “Go!” Elizabeth shouted, and Cleopatra and Daenerys started emptying the cash drawers.

“How we doin’ Cleo?” Elizabeth yelled.

“Super, Liz! Just grabbing funds for our next tea and crumpets party”, Cleopatra answered as she went from drawer to drawer, stuffing her duffel bag full of cash.

“Time, Mary!” Elizabeth yelled.

“Sixty”, Mary yelled back, looking at her watch as she covered the far side of the bank.

“Dani?” Elizabeth yelled.

“We’re stylin!” Daenerys yelled as she stuffed her own duffel bag full of cash. She and Cleopatra continued to stuff cash into their duffel bags while Elizabeth and Mary stood watch.

“Time!” Mary yelled.

“Okay, that’s it!” Elizabeth yelled as she jumped off the counter. Cleopatra and Daenerys immediately stopped emptying cash drawers, zipped up their duffel bags and headed out the front door. Elizabeth reached the front door and held it open for Mary, who was coming from the back of the room. Mary reached the front door, and as she did, she stopped, turned around to face the room, handed Elizabeth her shotgun, and then raised her arms and put both middle fingers up. She held her pose for a moment, and then she grabbed her gun back and ran out the front door. Elizabeth laughed and then addressed the room. “Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. We hope to see you again soon!” she called out, as if she was a rock star on stage, ending her performance. Then she turned around, headed out the front door, and she was gone, leaving a room full of frightened customers and an unconscious security guard.


	3. Chapter 3

“Surgical precision”, Tobin said to Abby. They were in the bank, watching security tapes of the robbery. “Look at the way they cover the room.”  
“Liz and Mary know their jobs”, Abby said.

“Efficient, too”, Tobin said as she watched Daenerys and Cleopatra start emptying the cash drawers. “Two on the money, two posting cover.”

“Yup. The Queen Team are the best I’ve ever seen”, Abby said, then sighed. “Twenty seven banks in three years.”

“Wow”, Tobin said, still watching the security footage, paying attention to Cleopatra and Daenerys as they continued to empty the cash drawers. “They never go for the vault?” she asked, looking up at Abby.

“No. Never”, Abby said, shaking her head. “They stick strictly to the cash drawers.”

“I guess you’d burn time in the vault”, Tobin theorized. 

“Correct”, Abby said. “And these girls are in and out in ninety seconds. No vault, and no one ever gets shot.”

“Wow”, Tobin said. How would criminals this good ever be caught, she wondered as she turned back to the screen. She continued to watch the footage as the robbers made their exit. She saw Mary flip the security camera the double bird and was about to ask Abby a question when an interruption from an unfamiliar voice came.

“Alright, if you two dumbasses are done mindlessly watching these tapes, we real investigators need to get a look.” Tobin looked up and saw that the words had come from a tallish brunette with wavy hair. The woman with her, who Tobin assumed was her partner, also had brown hair and was of similar appearance, just a bit older. Both were dressed in matching grey suits.

“Who’s this?” Tobin asked Abby.

“Uh, Shannon and Lauren, this is my new partner Tobin”, Abby said.

“Nice to meet you guys”, Tobin said, sticking out her hand. Neither Shannon nor Lauren made a move to shake it.

“Look at you, first week on the job. Oooohhh, isn’t this exciting?” Lauren said condescendingly to Tobin.

“What is your problem, dude?” Tobin asked, staring Lauren down.

“'Dude'?”, Lauren repeated after Tobin. “Grow up, junior. We use adult words around here.” Then she turned to Abby. “Speaking of ‘dude’, Hang ten, Abby, like totally raaaaaad, duuuude!” she said.

Shannon laughed and looked at Abby. “Have you told the kid your theory yet?” she asked with amusement and then looked at Tobin. “The department loves it.”

“Alright you guys”, Abby said, exasperated.

“What are they talking about, Abby?” Tobin asked. Abby just stared at her, and Tobin was about to ask again when Jill approached.

“We found the stolen drop car up on Mulholland”, Jill said to the group.

“We’ll go work it”, Tobin jumped in.

Abby looked at Tobin and then closed her eyes. Christ, the kid was volunteering us to work a fucking drop car. This eager-beaver is going to be a pain in my ass, she thought. 

“Abby?” Jill asked and raised her eyebrow.

Abby looked at Jill who was waiting expectantly for an answer, then looked at Tobin who was bouncing with excitement, then at Shannon and Lauren who were smiling at her with smug expressions, and then back at Jill. “Fine”, she said with a resigned sigh. “We’ll go work it”, she said. Tobin smiled at her and slapped her on the shoulder, and the two of them went off.

“Have fun!” Shannon called after them sarcastically, and Abby turned around and flipped her the bird.  
 

********  
 

“Sweat secretion stains in the seats”, Tobin said, examining the car. “Today was a scorcher.” She continued to look around for other clues. “No trash, no debris. These guys are clean”, she said to herself.

“You figure this one out yet?” Abby asked sarcastically. Tobin kept examining the car, not bothering to reply to Abby’s jab. “At the rate you’re going, you’ll be able to solve this one and be home in time for dinner”, Abby growled out, then walked away from the car grumbling, “Drop car my ass, what the fuck…”

“Hey”, Tobin said, walking up to Abby. Abby turned around and stared at her. “So, you’ve been working bank robbery what – ten years?” Tobin asked.

“Twelve”, Abby responded.

“Right, twelve”, Tobin said. “So, I’m guessing that someone with your experience has a theory on these guys.”

Abby stared at Tobin for a moment and then said. “Forget it, kid.”

“What?” Tobin asked, putting some force in her voice.

“I said forget it, kid. These people are ghosts.”

“Right”, Tobin said. “Of course. You can’t figure it out, with all of your years of experience, so there’s no possible way that someone like me would have anything to offer, right?”

“Kid…” Abby said through gritted teeth, warning in her voice.

“Well, maybe you’re right. Or maybe you’ve just given up. Maybe you’re too burned out, washed up, and over the hill.”  
“Kiiiiid, I’m warning you”, Abby growled.

“Warning me about what?” Tobin challenged. She had worked and trained too hard to let some burned out partner drag her down before her career even got started. “What could you possibly threaten me with? You’re so burned out you can’t even kick a fucking soccer ball into a wide open net from twenty yards out. Why don’t you just take some early retirement right now, get a job as a rent-a-cop at a 7-11 or something, and tell stories about the "glory days”, if you ever even had any!”

“Fuck you, you eager-ass little punk!” Abby exploded in anger and grabbed Tobin’s shirt.

“What!? You mad?” Tobin taunted.

“Yeah!” Abby yelled.

“Good and mad!?” Tobin taunted again.

“Yeah!” Abby yelled again and raised a fist.

“Feels good, don’t it?” Tobin yelled. “Like you’re still alive, huh!” She stared at Abby, who stared back at her, fired up. Tobin saw a flicker in Abby’s eyes, a switch, and she pressed on. “Well, since you’re still alive and you’re not dead just yet, why don’t you tell me your theory, and we’ll go out and fucking get these assholes!” Tobin raged.

Abby stood there for a moment, staring at Tobin. The younger woman’s eyes were ablaze, and in that moment, Abby felt it. True, she was burned out. A dozen years of chasing scumbags wore you down. But this kid, this brash, gung-ho eager beaver punk, annoying as she was, had made her feel, once again, what it was like to have a purpose, a mission. To feel alive. A feeling she hadn’t felt in years, and looking at this fresh-faced recruit from UNC made her remember what she herself had felt when she had first joined the FBI, all those years ago. She exhaled, lowered her fist, and let go of Tobin’s shirt. The two of them stood there in standoff, staring at each other, and then Abby smiled slightly. “So, you want to nail the Queen Team and be a rock star, huh?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

Tobin stood there for a moment and then returned the slight smile. “Definitely. And I want us to do it. Together. As partners.”

Abby smiled again and then leaned in. “Well then, here it is”, she said. “The Queen Team…are surfers.”

Tobin pulled back, a look of shock on her face. This was not at all what she had expected Abby’s theory to be. “Surfers…?” she asked back for clarification.

“Yes, hot shot”, Abby said in confirmation. “Surfers.”  
 

********  
 

After their come-to-Jesus talk at the drop car site, Tobin and Abby headed back to Abby’s office and started re-watching the footage from the recent heist. They got to the part where Mary raised her arms and flipped the camera the bird with both hands, and Abby paused the footage.

“See that?” Abby said, pointing to Mary’s stomach. There was about two inches of bare skin showing right around Mary's waistline, just below the bulletproof vest and the shirts. In the middle of the exposed skin was a tan line. “Look at the tan line on this asshole.”

“Yeah, I see it”, Tobin said, absorbed. She was completely in the zone after her and Abby’s fight, focused and as fired up as she had ever been. They were going to get these girls. She could feel it.

“Now, check this out”, Abby said as she rummaged around her office. “Last year, Liz jumps off the counter at one of their jobs, and scuffs it with her shoe. So, we get a soil sample”, Abby said, and hands Tobin a sheet of paper with a lab printout. “The lab came back with several hundred compounds, but logistics narrowed it down to a dozen likely products. From that, given situation and circumstances, I narrowed it down to three possibilities. One of those is this”, she said and handed Tobin a plastic container.

“What’s this?” Tobin said, as she turned the container in her hands. It was red and about the size of a bar of soap. On it was written ‘Sex Wax’. Tobin continued to turn the container in her hand. “I didn’t know you were into kinky shit, Abby”, she said jokingly.

“Funny, kid”, Abby retorted. “It’s wax, for surfing. Surfers rub it on their boards for traction.”

“Okay…” Tobin said.

“Also, check this out”, Abby said and handed a sheet of paper with some dates. “Check out the dates. This is strictly a summer job for these assholes”, Abby said.

“I see”, Tobin said. “They start in early June and stop in August late.” She looked at Abby and then said, “They’re only here in the summer, when the waves are here, and then they leave. Maybe they travel around the world, following the surf.”

“That’s my theory, yes”, Abby confirmed.

Tobin sat for a moment, taking it all in, and then said, “So, we’ve got a gang of bank robbers who are possibly surfers”, she said. Then she looked at Abby and said, “So, what’s the next move?”

Abby looked at Tobin and then a small smile crept over her lips. “So, hot shot…what did they teach you about undercover work?”


	4. Chapter 4

Alex paddled out into the water. It was a beautiful summer day in L.A., and the surf was near perfect. Head-high and glassy, just the way she liked it. One of the perks of her job – working at her friend Serv’s roadside lunch shack - was the flexible hours. The job didn’t pay much, but it was worth it to be able to call off and surf whenever the waves were good, such as it was this morning. After having checked the surf report while drinking her morning coffee, Alex had called Serv and told him she would be late to work. An added bonus of today - the waves were big enough to discourage the plethora of annoying beginners who invaded the beach when the waves were small, so she was all alone and had the whole break to herself.

Alex reached the takeoff spot, where the waves start to break. She spotted a good one and paddled into it, letting the wave take her. She carved out a few nice turns and then hopped over the crest of the wave. She paddled back to the takeoff spot and caught another one. Then she paddled back again, and as she did, she noticed a lone figure with a surfboard standing on the shore.

   
********  
 

“Look, this is our best way in”, Abby said. She and Tobin were leaning against Abby’s car in a parking lot on a bluff that overlooked Palos Beach. There was only one other car in the lot, parked at the other end. Tobin looked over the bluff onto the ocean. A single surfer had just paddled out into the water, and from what she could tell, it was a woman, with long brown hair and an athletic form.

“So, you’re telling me that the FBI is going to pay me to learn how to surf?” Tobin asked Abby skeptically.

“No, kid. The FBI is paying you to fight crime and arrest criminals. For this case, you just so happen to need to go undercover as a surfer”, Abby said, staring at Tobin. “Next one you might get sent undercover as a hooker”, Abby jabbed, and Tobin scowled at her. “No, seriously - it’s either you or me on the board. And c’mon – you’re the star athlete, right?”

Tobin rolled her eyes. “Alright, I’ll do it”, she said.

“That’s the spirit!” Abby said and clapped Tobin on the back. Then she handed Tobin the cheap surfboard and the wetsuit they had just bought at a surf shop a mile away. “Let me know when you’re done splashing around. Now go out there and make a friend”, Abby said with a wink.

   
********  
 

Tobin laid down on her board and paddled out into the surf. It hadn’t looked too bad from the shore. It looked like just some small waves from where she had been standing. Tobin had never tried surfing before, but it looked pretty easy. At least the woman surfing a couple hundred yards in front of her made it look easy. Plus, I’m an athlete, Tobin thought. This can’t be that hard. Just a bit of balance needed, and I’ll figure out the rest when I stand up. Probably just like learning to ride a bike, she thought.

Tobin kept paddling out. As she paddled, she looked around at her surroundings, and she got lost in the beauty of the scenery. The beach, the water, the sun, the clouds, the trees – it was all so peaceful. It made her forget for a moment that she was actually working a case. Then she was hit with a face full of water that brought her back to reality. She looked up and froze. Somehow the water had gotten much choppier than it had been closer to shore. She looked back towards shore and realized that she was much further out than she had thought. The waves, which had looked small from shore, were much bigger and thumping around her. A small feeling of uncertainty crept into her. Maybe I am in over my head. Maybe I should get back on land. I’ll just ride the next wave in, she thought. She turned her board towards shore and started to paddle. She felt a wave surge under her and she tried to stand up and ride it in, but she fell right off, six feet down into the raging water. She landed on her back, and right as she did, the wave took her as it curled up and slammed her down. The impact made her inhale sharply, and she sucked in a mass of seawater. Her lungs exploded as she coughed up water, and as she struggled for a breath another wave crashed down on top of her. She tumbled underwater, disoriented, and she felt her breath start to give way. She propelled herself towards the surface and was met with a third wave crashing on top of her. She went under again. Blackness start to encroach her vision, and stars started to twinkle in her periphery. Her lungs gave out, and she gasped for air, but she was underwater. She inhaled what felt like half the ocean, and just before she went black she felt a strong hand grab her arm.  
 

********  
 

Tobin opened her eyes. For a moment she didn’t know where she was, and then it came to her. She had been surfing and had almost drowned. Now she was on the beach, on her back, staring up into the sky. And staring back at her was the woman who had been surfing further out. The sunlight was reflecting off of her glistening hair, giving her an angelic appearance. She’s beautiful, Tobin thought. She went to talk, to thank the woman for saving her, but the woman launched into her first.

“What the hell were you doing!?” the woman yelled.

“I-I-I-“ Tobin creaked out, but her voice wouldn’t come.

“What the hell were you doing, paddling out into that surf, when it’s clear you don’t know the first fucking thing about surfing!?” The woman stared at her for a moment and then continued. “Does it look like amateur hour out there? Huh? No, it doesn’t! Do you see any fucking amateurs out there? No, you don’t! That’s because you don’t belong out there!” The angry brunette paused and looked at the woman she had just rescued. She was athletic, and yes, she was very good looking, in a slightly tomboyish kind of way. And she felt sorry for her. She had almost drowned herself once, when she had first leaned to surf. She empathized and felt bad, but that still didn’t excuse this woman in front of her. She had been stupid to paddle out into waves this size, way over her skill level. And stupid is how people die. When people do stupid stuff, that’s how tragedy happens, the brunette thought. She softened her tone but kept her eyes hard. “You should rest here for now. And when you’re able, get up and get the hell off this beach”, she said. And with that, she turned around, grabbed her board and ran towards the water.

“Thank you!” Tobin tried to croak out. She tried to sit up but couldn’t muster the strength so she laid back down, and as a last parting shot she willed her voice to come back and yelled, “My name is Tobin!”

“I don’t care!” the brunette yelled as she waded into the ocean and jumped on her board.  
 

********  
 

“That is your surfing contact?” Abby said, incredulous, as she looked at Tobin’s computer screen. After Tobin had recovered from her near-drowning experience, she had walked back up to the parking lot. Abby was gone, but Tobin had gotten the license plate number of the only car the parking lot. “Alex Morgan”, Abby said, reading. “26. 5’7”. Long brown hair. Jesus Christ, kid”, Abby groaned, looking at the photo of the model-esque woman on Tobin’s screen.

“That’s her”, Tobin said. She continued to scan Alex’s profile. “I need a way in”, she said. She pulled up Alex’s criminal history.

“Speeding, reckless driving, lewd behavior in public”, Abby said, reading the rap sheet. “Wait – does that say ‘indecent exposure - surfing naked?’ Oh my God”, Abby said, throwing her hands up. “Really, kid?”

Tobin smiled at Abby, half amused, half thinking about the beautiful Alex Morgan. Even though their first meeting had consisted of Alex rescuing her and then scolding her as she laid on the beach, Tobin couldn’t help but smile when she thought of her. Then she turned her attention back to her computer. “There’s nothing here that I can use”, she said as she continued to read through the rap sheet. Then she clicked on a button titled “Miscellaneous Information”, and she smiled. “Here we go. Both parents deceased. Died in a car crash five years ago”, Tobin said. She stood up and smiled at Abby. “That’s it. I’ve got my way in.”


	5. Chapter 5

Tobin pulled up to the roadside lunch shack. She had been surveying Alex for two days and had finally come up with a plan. She had followed Alex this morning from her apartment to the beach where Alex had surfed for almost two hours before coming to work. Tobin took one last deep breath, adjusted her backwards baseball cap, got out of her car and walked in. There were a few diners at the tables. A man was behind the grill. Alex was at the register, counting money. Tobin walked over.

“Can I help you?” Alex asked without looking up.

“Shrimp and fries”, Tobin said.

“Anything else?” Alex asked, still counting money.

“Your number?” Tobin said and smiled her best smile.

Alex stopped counting. She looked up into Tobin’s smiling face. It took her a moment to register the familiarity, and then she frowned. “What are you doing here?” she asked with a scowl. Then she tilted her head back towards the kitchen and yelled. “Serv – shrimp and fries", then added "to go”.

“I want you to teach me how to surf”, Tobin said.

“What?” Alex asked confused.

“I said, I want you to teach me how to surf.”

“Why?” Alex asked, crossing her arms.

“Because I really want to learn.”

Alex looked at Tobin and said, “I don’t get it.”

“Well, you either teach me how to surf, or I’m going to teach myself, and well, we both know how that’s going to go. You don’t want someone dying from a drowning accident at your beach, do you?” Tobin asked. She tried to hold a serious face but couldn’t help cracking a small smile after a few seconds. Alex saw it and pointed her finger at Tobin.

“This is a line, isn’t it?” Alex asked, eyes narrowing.

“What? No, it’s not.”

“Yes, of course it is”, Alex said. “Really? You come in here, to my work, trying to pick me up, and you can’t do any better than that?” She huffed at Tobin and said, “I should come around this counter and throw you out of her myself.”

“No, look, please, listen”, Tobin said, putting her hands up. She took a deep breath and then began. “So…here’s the deal. All my life, I’ve done things for other people. My dad was a soccer player, so he wanted me to play soccer. So I did. Started young, summer soccer camps, extra practices, the whole nine yards. Then my mom wanted me to go to college to be a lawyer, because she was a lawyer. So I went to college, pre-law, on a soccer scholarship-.”

“Hey, is this going to take a really long time?” Alex asked impatiently. “I need to get back to work”, she motioned to the guy who had just come in and was standing in line behind Tobin.

“Wait, just listen”, Tobin said. “So, there I was, in college, playing soccer, on my way to becoming a lawyer. I graduated an NCAA All-American with a law degree. So I’m a hero to my mom and dad. Great. But then, BAM! They’re killed, in a car accident last year.” Tobin paused and stared at Alex. She saw Alex’s eyes go wide, and she knew she had struck a chord with the beautiful brunette, who was staring back at Tobin with big green eyes, now paying full attention to Tobin’s story. Tobin exhaled and then continued. “You…you can’t imagine what that’s like, what that does to you. It’s like, your whole life changes. And I realized that everything I had done, all of my goals, had been my parents’ goals…”, she said, drifting off. “So after I realized that, I wanted something for myself. So I come out here from New Jersey. And I go to the beach. I’ve never been in the ocean before. Any ocean. And I’m mesmerized. Totally mesmerized.” She leaned in towards Alex a bit and then said, “I want to do what you do.”

“Hey, quit holding up the line”, the guy behind Tobin whined. Tobin froze for a moment, contemplating knocking the guy out, but then she heard the order bell ring and another idea came to her.

“Is that my shrimp and fries?” Tobin asked Alex. Alex looked behind her at the bag that Serv had just put on the serving window counter and then nodded. She picked it up and handed it to Tobin.

“Here”, Tobin said to the guy, handing him her lunch. “It’s shrimp and fries. Now buzz off.” The guy looked in the bag, then looked at Tobin, shrugged his shoulders, nodded his head and walked off. Tobin glared at his back as he walked out and then turned back to Alex. “Please”, Tobin said. “Teach me. I want to do what you do.”

Alex looked back at the attractive tomboy in front of her, not quite sure what to say. When she had woken up this morning she certainly hadn’t imagined having a conversation like this, with this woman, of all people. As she continued to look at Tobin a wave of empathy and understanding washed over her. Of course she knew the feelings of despair following the death of her own parents, as well as the emptiness from having pursued all of their goals, and then the longing inside of her to find something for herself. What this woman in front of her was feeling was exactly what she herself had felt five years ago. It’s why she had started surfing herself in the first place. Her eyes dropped as she looked down in thought, and then she looked back up at the woman in front of her. “Okay”, Alex said softly.

“Okay?” Tobin echoed, a smile creeping across her face.

“Yes. Okay. I’ll teach you”, Alex confirmed.

“Awesome!” Tobin yelled and pumped her fist in the air.

“Tomorrow. 6am. At the beach where I rescued you.”

“Okay. I’ll be there!” Tobin said, excited.

“If you are one minute late I am gone”, Alex said.

“I will not be late. Thank you”, Tobin said and smiled her best smile. “I’m Tobin, by the way.”

“Alex”, Alex said. She gazed at Tobin for a moment and then smiled slightly. “So, are you buying lunch for everyone, Tobin?” she asked, motioning to the line growing behind Tobin, “or can I get back to work?”


	6. Chapter 6

Tobin was dressed in her wet suit and waiting in the parking lot when Alex pulled up. It was 6:01am.

“Hey, you ready?” Alex said as she parked. She got out of her car and removed her surfboard from the rack on the top of her car.

“Yup”, Tobin replied. She grabbed her own board and followed Alex down the trail that lead from the parking lot to the beach. They set their boards on the sand and then Alex led them through some stretching.

“Okay”, Alex said as she motioned out onto the water. “Look at the ocean. Before you even get in the water, you need to understand what’s happening out there.” Tobin nodded in understanding. After yesterday’s near-drowning experience, she definitely understood the value in that. “Look at the waves”, Alex said as she motioned with her hand. “Look how they move. Look at the speed at which they move, the direction they move, where they start breaking, how they break, and where they loose steam and fizzle out. Now, you see where those bigger waves are?” Alex asked, pointing to a set of waves farther out from the beach.

“Yep”, Tobin answered.

“That’s where you were a few days ago”, Alex said. She turned towards Tobin and said, “You shouldn’t have been there. You see where those smaller waves are?” she asked, pointing to the waves closer to the shore.

“Yep”, Tobin said again.

“That’s where we’re going today. Got it?”

“Okay, I got it”, Tobin said.

“No, you don’t”, Alex said. “The only way you get it is to get out there. So let’s get ready. Next thing is to practice getting up on your board. And you learn that by first practicing on land.” Alex motioned to the boards. “Go ahead and lie down on your board.” Tobin did. “Scoot back a bit. Good, there you go. That’s where you want to be.” Alex got onto her board as well. “Now, when I say ‘go’, you’re going to pop up on your board. Try to land with both feet on the board at the same time, otherwise you’ll fall over. Got it?”

“Uh, not sure yet”, Tobin said with a smile.

“That’s better. You’re learning”, Alex said with a smile, and Tobin thought about how Jill had said that she didn’t know anything because she was too green to know that she knew nothing. Maybe I’ve got a lot to learn, Tobin thought, about more than just being in the FBI.

“Ready?” Alex’s voice snapped Tobin out of her thoughts. “Okay – go!"

Tobin popped up on her board. A little unsteady, but not bad, Alex thought. She had Tobin repeat the action a dozen times.

“Okay, pretty good there, ready to get in the water?” Ashlyn asked.

“I’m ready”, Tobin said.

“Alright, let’s go!” Alex said. She grabbed her board and ran towards the water. She got five steps into the water and then threw her board down and laid down on it, paddling with her arms towards the horizon. Tobin mimicked her movements and soon found herself several hundred feet offshore. She shuddered for a quick second when she passed by what she thought might have been the spot where she had almost drowned, but she shook it off. She was with a pro now, and nothing like that would happen again.

“Okay, Tobin, here comes your wave”, Alex said. Tobin could see the waves start to form about 100 feet from her towards the horizon. “You ready?”

“I think so”, Tobin said.

“Start paddling”, Alex instructed. “Go! Go!”

Tobin started paddling and then heard Alex yell, “Pop up!” She popped up and for a few seconds she felt weightlessness as the wave surged under her and carried her for about twenty feet. Then, all of a sudden, she felt wobbly, and she fell off the board. She had a quick moment again where she thought about drowning, but she shook it off and came up to the surface. Alex was sitting on her board, laughing and clapping her hands.

“Not bad!” Alex yelled.

“Really?” Tobin said as she paddled back. “How long was I up for?”

“About five seconds.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah.”

“Felt a lot longer”, Tobin said.

“Well, it wasn’t, but it was still good. Some people take like twenty tries just to get up. Some people never get up.” Alex looked at Tobin and smiled, and then looked towards the horizon. “Here comes another set of waves. You ready?”

“Yep.”

“Alright, Tobin, paddle!” Alex yelled. Tobin started paddling and felt the way approach her from the backside. “Pop up!” Alex yelled, and Tobin pushed herself up. There it was again, the floating feeling, and then she felt the power of the wave surge under her, propelling her towards shore. Tobin spread her arms for balance, concentrating on the feeling of the wave beneath her board and trying not to shift her weight so she wouldn't fall. Her whole body tingled with elation, and she she rode the wave until she felt it lose steam and peeter out underneath her. She laid back down on her board and started paddling back out.

“Nice!” Alex yelled out.

“Thanks!” Tobin yelled back.

“Okay, my turn”, Alex said. “We’ll switch off waves. One thing you never want to do is get on someone else’s wave”, she said firmly.

“Got it”, Tobin said, then watched as Alex deftly caught a wave and rode it in.

   
********  
 

They spent a few more hours in the water, taking turns catching waves. When they paddled in to shore, Tobin noticed that there were some other people now on the beach. A group of women who all looked to be in their twenties were about fifty yards away, kicking around a soccer ball. A lone surfer was surfing the bigger waves, out past where she and Alex had been surfing.

“That’s Ashlyn”, Alex said when she noticed Tobin staring. “She’s the best surfer out here.” Tobin watched as the tall, muscular blonde with a sleeve of tattoos on her left arm charged down the face of a big wave, carved out a powerful bottom turn, then rode up the face of the wave and bashed the lip, then continued to ride the wave out, executing powerful turns in sweeping arcs as she went, finally kicking out back over the crest of the wave. “She’s a real searcher”, Alex said.

“What’s she searching for?” Tobin asked.

“The ride”, Alex said with a smile. “The ultimate ride”, Alex said. “That’s what surfing is all about. You get it?”

“Uh…”, Tobin was about to say ‘yeah’, when she checked herself. “I’m not sure”, she said. She smiled, and Alex smiled back, now a slightly teasing smile. Then Tobin looked around, continuing to dry her hair, taking in the scenery and watching the girls nearby kick the soccer ball around. She must have spaced out for a bit, because when she came to she looked over at Alex and saw Ashlyn coming up behind her. Tobin started to say something but Ashlyn put her finger to her lips to signal Tobin to stay quiet. Tobin looked away and then heard Alex squeal as Ashlyn came up behind her and swept her off of her feet. 

“Hey”, Ashlyn breathed into Alex’s ear.

“Hey”, Alex said back, as Ashlyn put her down. “Uh, Ashlyn, this is Tobin. Tobin, this is Ashlyn.”

“Hey, how’s it going?” Tobin said, not going for a handshake, trying to act coolly aloof, like how she thought a surfer might act.

Ashlyn looked at Tobin’s surfboard. “Well, that’s a surfboard alright. Looks like a ’57 Chevy I used to have”, she quipped. She smiled at Tobin and then looked at Alex. “Can I talk with you for a second?” Alex put up a finger in a ‘just one moment’ gesture to Tobin and then walked away a bit with Ashlyn. “So...what’s up, Alex. Are you replacing me?”

“What? Ash, no, look…“ Alex said.

“She surfs real well”, Ashlyn said sarcastically.

“She’s from New York or something”, Alex said, a bit embarrassed.

“What, are you babysitting now? Teaching kooks and groms how to ride the white wash?” Ashlyn asked sarcastically.

“What!? Shut up, Ashlyn”, Alex said in an annoyed voice. “You see, snide comments like that are the reason why we’re not together anymore”, she said. She rolled her eyes and then walked away from Ashlyn towards Tobin.

Tobin was casually trying to watch the interaction between Alex and Ashlyn when she heard a voice call out, “Heads up!” She looked up just in time to see a soccer ball coming at her from fifty yards away. She trapped the ball with her thigh, settled it down to her foot, juggled it a few times, put it up to her head, balanced it there for a moment, then dropped it back down to her foot and kicked it back to the girl who had yelled the warning.

“Nice skills”, Ashlyn called out, walking towards the group of girls. “Well c’mon - let’s play some ball!”, she called out and motioned at Tobin and Alex to join the group.

   
********  
 

It was four on four. Tobin, Alex and two of the women in the group were on the same team. Ashlyn, the woman who had originally kicked the ball to Tobin and two other girls were on the opposing team. Tobin had been introduced to everyone but couldn’t remember anyone’s name, although she thought the woman who had originally kicked the ball to her might be Whitney. There was a ninth woman there, sitting on the sidelines, drinking out of a bottle, an intense look in her eyes. She didn’t quite catch her name (might have been Presley, or Press or something like that), but she looked rough, and Tobin had a feeling that the woman had maybe spent some time behind bars. The women had created a makeshift field on the sand and had outlined the goals with t-shirts for goalposts. Now, Tobin had the ball and was dribbling towards Ashlyn’s team’s goal. She nutmegged one opponent and then passed the ball to Alex. Alex dribbled, passed it to one of the other women who shot it into the goal.

“One nothing!” Alex shouted. She looked at Tobin. “Nice nutmeg”, she said with a smile, impressed with Tobin’s skills.

“Thanks. You’ve got some skills yourself”, Tobin said. The women were actually all pretty good.

Ashlyn came towards them, ball at her feet. She beat one woman and took a shot on goal, a hard shot that sailed through the posts. She and Whitney slapped hands. “We’re even, ladies!” she called out to Tobin and Alex’s team.

Tobin chased the ball down. She put it into play, passed it to a teammate and then made a run. Her teammate passed it to Alex, who then fed Tobin. Tobin collected the ball but was met with a hard challenge by Ashlyn. Tobin went down, eating a mouthful of sand in the process. Ashlyn dribbled the ball and then passed it to Whitney, who put the ball through the posts. Ashlyn howled and then shot a competitive growl at Tobin.

The game went back and forth, both teams stopping and scoring goals. Then Ashlyn stole the ball from Alex. She dribbled towards Tobin’s goal, taking the ball down towards the surf line as she went. The tide was coming up, and Ashlyn was right on the water’s edge. Tobin came in for a hard challenge. She grabbed mostly ball but ended up clipping Ashlyn, sending them both tumbling into the surf. Tobin got up, soaking wet.

“Hey!” Whitney ran up and got in Tobin’s face. “Don’t you think that’s a little out of line?”

“Whoa, chill out, Whit, it's alright”, Ashlyn said as she got up. “Don’t you know who this is?”

“No, I don’t fucking know who this is!” Whitney shot back, glaring at Tobin. By now the rest of the women had gathered around.

“This is Tobin Heath, University Of North Carolina, All-American”, Ashlyn said to the group.

“No way! Number 98, how you doin’?” One of the women who looked slightly younger than the rest introduced herself. “I’m Moe.” She and Tobin shook hands.

“I’ve seen you play, you’re amazing”, another woman said. “I’m A-Rod.”

“Tobin Heath – sorry, dude, didn’t mean to get in your face”, Whitney said. She offered her hand in apology and Tobin shook it. Others introduced themselves and Tobin shook all of their hands, a bit taken aback by all of the recognition.

“NCAA Championships. Five years ago. You beat UCLA”, Ashlyn said, remembering the game. The 2010 NCAA Championship was considered by many soccer pundits to be the best college game in the last thirty years.

“Wait – that was you?” Alex asked, looking at Tobin. Tobin nodded her head modestly. “Wow”, Alex said, then smiled at Tobin, impressed. Tobin looked at her for a moment and then smiled back in appreciation.

“I thought for sure you were going pro”, Morgan said.

“But you got nuked in the second half or something, right?” Ashlyn asked.

“Yeah, I tore my ACL. Ended my playing career right there”, Tobin verified. “Two years of surgery. Missed my window.”

“So what do you do now?” Alex asked, and as she did she shook her head at herself, as she realized that she really didn’t know anything about Tobin other than the little bit that they had talked about yesterday when Tobin had come into Alex’s work.

“I’m a lawyer”, Tobin said.

“Really?” Alex asked, surprised. “You ended up being a lawyer, even though that was what your mom wanted you to do?”

“Yeah”, Tobin nodded a bit sheepishly. “I mean, I guess I figured I got the degree, so I might as well put it to use, and, well, I have to make a living somehow”, she said with a smile.

“Man, lawyers don’t surf”, Amy said with playful disdain.

“Apparently this one does”, Whitney said.

“A lawyer, huh?” Ashlyn said and raised her eyebrows. Tobin nodded, and Ashlyn shook her head, laughed and then clapped Tobin on the shoulder. “Well, life’s not over yet. You’re surfing, right?” she said and then smiled. Then she addressed the group. “I’m hungry. Who wants to get lunch?” The group nodded, and Alex looked at Tobin.

“Do you want to come with us?” Alex asked.

“Uh…I would love to, but, uh, I guess I should head to my office…I have a client meeting coming up soon.” She smiled apologetically at Alex and then asked, “Can I call you later?”

“Yeah, of course”, Alex said with a smile.


	7. Chapter 7

“How’d your surfing lesson go?” Abby asked.

“Good. Getting the hang of it”, Tobin answered.

“I don’t care about that”, Abby said. “What I meant was, did you make any contacts? Meet anyone suspicious that I should know about?”

“No”, Tobin said. “I mean, I met some of Alex’s friends, but so far no one suspicious. In fact, they’re all pretty cool. We ended up playing a pick-up game of soccer on the beach after Alex and I got done surfing.”

“Well that sounds delightful”, Abby said, sarcastically. “Look, kid – this isn’t summer camp. You’re working a case. Your job is to find out if the Queens are surfers, and if so, which ones. Got it?” Tobin nodded. “Remember – this is a real tight crew. You’ll know if you meet them, so let me know as soon as that happens.” Tobin nodded again, and then Abby said, “Okay, let’s go to the lab. Charles has something for us.” Tobin and Abby walked to the lab and opened the door. Charles, the lab tech, was waiting for them.

“The security guard at the bank had managed to grab Mary’s ponytail”, Charles began. “He paid for it with a broken jaw and a concussion, but we managed to salvage a hair follicle. I ran it and found traces of arsenic, titanium and ammonia, as well as traces of several other elements not native to hair. Now, the sand at most of the beaches in L.A. has small amounts of chemicals and other elements in it, from pollution and treatment plants and what not. What you guys need to do is go around to some of the beaches in the area and collect samples of sand. Then I can analyze the sand, and if the elements in the sand match up to the non-native elements in the hair follicle that we have, and in matching percentages, then we know that whoever robbed the bank visits whatever beach has those matching elements in its sand. Then you guys can start surveillance at that beach.”

“Makes sense”, Tobin said. She turned to Abby. “We’ll hit some beaches in the area this afternoon. One thing, though – let’s stay away from Palos Beach. I don’t want to take the chance that Alex or one of her friends will see me there with you. That could blow my cover. I can get sand from there some other time.”

“Agreed”, Abby said and turned to leave. “Charles – we’ll be back with some sand samples from various beaches later today”. Charles nodded, and Tobin and Abby left the lab.

   
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-  
 

“So how was the rest of your day?” Alex asked. She and Tobin were walking along the sand on Palos Beach, waiting for the sunset.

“It was good”, Tobin said. “Um…I just have a pretty big case…a _law_ case…right now”, Tobin said with emphasis, wanting to make sure she clearly imparted to Alex that she was a lawyer, “but it was good. How about you?”

Alex chuckled. “Yes, Tobin, I figured it was a law case, since you’re a _lawyer_ ”, she said, and lightly bumped Tobin’s shoulder with her own. “My day was fine. I worked at the shack this afternoon.”

“Best shrimp in the city”, Tobin said.

“Well, thank you”, Alex said. “But actually, you wouldn’t know, since you still haven’t eaten there yet”, Alex said with a teasing smile. “You should come by for lunch one day.”

“I would love to”, Tobin said with a smile, “But actually, I’d like to take you out to dinner. For teaching me to surf. And for, well, you know…saving my life and all”, Tobin said with a sheepish smile.

Alex looked over at her and then smiled. “I’d like that”, she said.

Tobin smiled back at her for a moment and then remembered that she was supposed to collect a sand sample. She pulled out a small jar, stooped down, collected a handful of sand, and out some sand in the jar.

“What are you doing?” Alex asked.

“I’m, uh…collecting sand…to send to some friends back home”, Tobin improvised. “Some friends of mine are envious that I’m out here, since it’s way nicer than New Jersey, so they asked me to send them some sand, so they could have a bit of California beach as well”, Tobin said. It was kind of lame and flimsy, but maybe Alex would buy it.

“Awwww…that’s cute”, Alex said with a smile. Tobin smiled back, screwed the cap on the jar and put it in her pocket.

“So, uh…do you guys all surf only at this beach, or do you surf other beaches too?” Tobin asked, trying to change the subject, but also trying to get more information on surfing, surfing culture, and maybe even the Queens. She didn’t think Alex and her friends were involved in anything, but at this point she’d take any knowledge that she could get.

“Yeah, we surf here a lot. We surf other breaks too, but surfers are pretty territorial, so we mostly surf just a few certain breaks, and this is one of them.”

“Oh, cool. Where else do you surf?”

“Why? You wouldn’t know any of the places since you’re not a surfer, silly”, Alex said and then giggled teasingly, a twinkle in her eye.

Tobin just shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe you can tell me just in case I feel like having you rescue me again, at a different beach?” Tobin said and smiled back. 

“You’re too much, Tobin”, Alex said with a nudge of her shoulder. “Oh look – the sun is going down. Yay! Sunset!” Alex squealed. She sat down on the beach facing the sunset, and Tobin sat down next to her. “This is so beautiful”, Alex said, leaning her head on Tobin’s shoulder.

“Yes it is”, Tobin agreed, putting her arm around Alex, her hand brushing across Alex’s hair. She had to agree – the sunset really was amazing. With the sun dropping, though, it was getting a bit chilly. Tobin’s other hand slipped into her pocket for warmth, and it was then that she felt the small jar of sand, and she sighed as she was reminded that she was on a case, and that Alex was just her way in undercover.


	8. Chapter 8

“You two can go in”, Carmen said. She held the door open for them. She was not smiling. Tobin and Abby walked in to Jill’s office. Both of them were dressed in beachwear instead of the standard suits. Tobin was carrying her surfboard. Jill was standing behind her desk waiting for them, hands on her hips, looking pissed off.

“Special Agent Heath”, Jill began. “This is not some job flipping burgers down the street at the corner diner. Yes, the surfboard bothers me. Yes, your clothes bother me. And yes, YOU bother me!” She glared at Tobin for a moment and then shifted her gaze to Abby. “And Wambach – for the love of Christ, how did I let you talk me into this asinine idea?”

“We’re working undercover, Jill”, Abby defended. “It takes time. We’ve inserted Tobin and produced a few-“

“No!” Jill yelled. “Let me tell you what you have produced. In the last week, you two have produced squat! In that time, the Queens have robbed two more banks! Thank God I have some real agents in Boxx and Cheney to head up those investigations and do some real work, while you two are off futzing about in the sun!” She glared at Tobin and Abby and then said, “Now, does either one of you have anything even remotely interesting to tell me?”

Abby shook her head. Tobin looked at Abby, then looked at Jill, then looked back at Abby. Then she looked back at Jill and said, “I caught my first tube yesterday, ma’am.”

Jill’s stared at her for a moment and then her face went red when she saw Abby trying to stifle a laugh. “Get out of my office!” she yelled, and Abby and Tobin scurried out.

“Why’d you have to say that to Jill?” Abby asked on their way to the lab. “You knew she’d blow a gasket.”

“Hey Abby, this is your lame-o idea in the first place”, Tobin fired back. “Since it’s stupid to begin with, the least I can do is have some fun with it. Plus, I'm surfing on my own time. Jill shouldn't have a problem.”

“Alright, fine, and I get your point, this idea is kind of silly, but you don’t have to rub Jill’s nose in it, alright? And, it could be worse. You could be undercover as a sewage drainpipe worker or something.”

Tobin rolled her eyes at Abby as they entered the lab. “Charles – what do you have for us?”

“We found a match”, Charles said and held up a small jar of sand. “Latigo Beach. Just west of Malibu.”

“Nice”, Tobin said. “I’ll hit the break first thing tomorrow.”

   
********  
 

“That was really good”, Alex said as the server cleared their plates. Tobin had picked up Alex and taken her to a seafood restaurant near Malibu. They had just finished dinner and were through their second round of drinks.

“I’m glad you liked it”, Tobin said. “So, I realized I don’t really know much about you. Other than that your surf. And you work at the best lunch shack in town. And you’re not a bad soccer player. And you’re beautiful”, Tobin said and smiled.

Alex blushed a bit. “Thank you”, she said. “I grew up in Diamond Bar. It’s about an hour east of downtown L.A.”

“Do your parents still live there?” Tobin asked. She already knew the answer but she couldn’t let on that she knew.

“No”, Alex said. “My parents died in a car crash five years ago.” She looked down at the table, eyes dropping sadly.

“I’m so sorry”, Tobin said. And it was then that she felt it. A stab of guilt. She was playing on a heavy emotion for Alex, and she was using it just to get in undercover. And on top of that, she was finding herself increasingly drawn to Alex. She was beautiful, talented, sweet, and free-spirited. She stared at Alex, thoughts swirling in her head, when Alex’s voice brought her back to the present.

“That’s why I took you surfing, Tobin. We made a connection. Both of our parents have died in car crashes. I know, it’s kind of a morbid connection, but it’s a connection anyway. It’s important to make connections, you know what I mean?

“I do”, Tobin said, taking a sip of her beer.

“Anyway, I understand where you are emotionally, Tobin, with your parents dying in a car crash and all. I was there too. And I know what it’s like to have goals that were not your own. I played sports too, when I was younger, because my parents wanted me to, and then I went to college for a couple years to study political economics. My parents wanted to me to be in politics, if you can believe that. Can you imagine me as your state representative?” Alex said and laughed. Tobin thought about Alex’s rap sheet and then about Alex in politics and smiled at the irony. And, she has such an adorable laugh, Tobin thought, and then laughed out loud with her.

“What did you want to do?” Tobin asked. “Or, I mean, if you could do anything, what would it be?”

“Surf?” Alex said and laughed.

“Well, obviously”, Tobin said, smiling, but besides that.”

“I like art. Drawing and painting. I don’t know”, Alex shrugged. “Maybe open an art gallery, or an art studio or something? Ahhhh…to dream, right?” Alex smiled and then continued. “Anyway, after my parents died I stopped playing softball, basketball and track – all of the sports that my parents wanted me to play when I was younger, except for soccer, since I’ve always liked soccer – and I started surfing.”

“And is that how you met Ashlyn?”

“Yeah, well kind of. She and her friends came to the lunch shack one day, like a couple years ago. She hit on me, and somehow got me to go surfing with her. I had actually wanted to go surf at this break, Latigo Beach, but it’s heavy on locals, so it’s hard to get waves there. Ashlyn said she’d take me there, so I went.”

“Latigo Beach?” Tobin said at the mention of the beach that she would be scoping out tomorrow.

“Yeah. Do you know it?” Alex looked at her quizzically.

“Uh, no, well, maybe it sounds familiar, but I don’t know…” Tobin drifted off and then said, “Well that’s cool”. Inside she made a mental note to ask a bit more about that later.

“Yeah. Anyway…” Alex said, and then trialed off.

“What…?” Tobin prompted.

“I don’t know”, Alex said shyly. “I feel weird talking to you about this.”

“Abut what?”

“About Ashlyn.”

“Why?”

“Well, because, you know…Ashlyn and I were together for a bit, and, well… I mean, here we are, you and I, out on a date…” Alex said and let it hang.

“It’s okay”, Tobin said. Part of her just wanted information on Ashlyn so she could file it away in case it came in handy for her case, but part of her did feel a bit weird, having Alex talk about another woman on their date. When the night had started out, Tobin had asked Alex out to dinner primarily just to talk with her to get more information for her case, but this really did feel like a date. An actual, honest-to-goodness date, which, if Tobin was honest with herself, was the first date she’d had in a while. And, as she sat there, thoughts swirling in her head, a part of her wanted to just come out with it, to tell Alex who she was and what she was doing, and to let her know that she was falling for her, and that she could still work her case, but then not have to hide behind the walls of deception that come with undercover work.

“Tobin?” Alex said, bringing her out of her train of thought.

“Yeah?”

“What were you just thinking about?” Alex asked as she took a sip of her wine and gazed at Tobin across the candlelit table. She’s beautiful, Tobin thought. She gazed back at Alex for a moment and then said, “Nothing, sorry – I was just…thinking about my parents”, she lied.

“Hey”, Alex said. “I’m here for you if you need anything”, she said with a shy smile.

Tobin smiled back and reached across the table. She found Alex's free hand near the bread basket and squeezed it. “Thank you. And I’m here for you too”, she said to Alex.

   
********  
 

After dinner Tobin took Alex’s hand and they walked on the boardwalk that ran along the beach. “So, do you guys surf Latigo Beach often?” Tobin asked, her mind wandering back to her case.

“No, not really. Ashlyn does on occasion, and Whit goes with her sometimes, but other than that not too much.” Alex paused for a moment and then said, “There are some…rough people who surf there.”

“Rough…how?” Tobin prompted.

“I don’t know, just…kind of crazy people there”, Alex said. 

“Oh, okay”, Tobin said, and let it drop. They walked in silence for a moment and then she asked, “So, how come you stopped dating Ashlyn?” Alex looked sideways at her, and Tobin said, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“It’s okay”, Alex said. “Ashlyn’s just…kind of…I don’t know...unpredictable. Like she just kind of comes and goes, goes with the flow. I mean, I kind of go with the flow too, but Ashlyn, it’s like…sometimes she just up and disappears for like months at a time. She, and Whit, and A-Rod and Moe. And Press, although I’ve never cared for her. She scares me, to be honest with you, but for some reason Ashlyn is friends with her”, Alex said, and Tobin thought about the tough-looking woman, who she had thought looked like someone who might have spent some time in prison, drinking at the beach while they had been playing soccer. “Anyway, sometimes they just, like, disappear. And then they come back, like half a year later.” She looked at Tobin and said, “It’s like, they live some kind of secret life or something. I don’t want to be with someone like that. I don’t want any secrets. And I don’t want that kind of unpredictability in my life. After what I’ve been through, I want to know the person that I’m with, and know that that person is going to always be around for me.”

“Huh…” Tobin said, thinking about what Alex had just said. Ashlyn and her crew…disappearing for months at a time. She wanted to ask if they were always around during the summer and then disappeared at other times, but she thought that might be pushing it, so she kept that to herself.

“What?” Alex said.

“What?” Tobin said back.

“You said, ‘huh’”, Alex said.

“Oh yeah. I was just thinking about what you were saying…about no secrets”, Tobin lied. Dammit, she thought, I shouldn’t have said that, but it just came off my tongue before I could stop it.

“I know, right?” Alex said, excited that Tobin agreed with her. Maybe this could be the start of something, she wondered to herself. “I mean, isn’t that the best for a relationship? No secrets?” She looked over and smiled at Tobin, and then she stopped them walking, lightly grabbed Tobin’s arm and faced Tobin towards her. “Don’t you agree? Isn’t that best?”

Tobin looked into Alex’s eyes. She was falling for this woman, and she felt horrible. Horrible because she was keeping a secret from her. A really big secret. She wanted so badly to just tell Alex right now, but looking into Alex’s big eyes made her clam up, and she delivered what Alex wanted to hear. “Yeah, I mean, totally. No secrets. That’s the best”, Tobin stammered out.

Alex stared at her for a moment and then smiled. Tobin smiled back, and then Alex leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Tobin’s lips, and Tobin thought, how long can I keep this up? And what am I getting myself into?


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kook (n): what locals call amateurs and/or outsiders surfing their break.  
> Grom (n): a young (or young looking) surfer

Tobin laid down onto her board and started paddling out at Latigo Beach. About ten other surfers were in the water. As she neared the takeoff zone she noticed a couple of the other surfers glare at her. One of them had piercing eyes, brown hair and a hard jawline. The other had darker brown hair and a serious look on her face. A couple other surfers glanced over at her with unfriendly looks on their faces. One was blonde with chiseled features. The fourth was shorter, with reddish-brown hair and a smattering of freckles across her face. Tobin stayed out of their way but took note of their faces. Maybe she would look them up later, try to identify them in rap sheet logs back at the office to see if they’ve had any prior arrests. Not that being unfriendly meant that they were necessarily criminals. They could just be hardcore locals, resentful of an outsider encroaching on their break. The other surfers in the lineup paid her no attention.

Tobin caught a few waves and was considering paddling back in when she saw a good set starting to roll in. She paddled back out and took off on a decent sized wave. She rode for about ten seconds and was just starting to congratulate herself when she heard a shout from her left. She saw the darker brunette coming towards her, yelling at her to get off the wave. Tobin wanted to pull out but didn’t have the skills to react in time, and the dark brunette plowed right into her. Both surfers went down into the water. Tobin came up, and when she did, she saw the brunette swimming towards her. “Hey! Watch where you’re fucking going!” she yelled.

“Sorry”, Tobin said. She stuck out her hand in apology, but instead of shaking it the brunette slapped her across the face.

“Fuck you for dropping in on me, you kook!” she said. She glared at Tobin. “Go back to the Valley, bitch!”, she spat as she collected her board and then paddled away. Tobin thought about paddling after her and then realized that she might not be alone, so she decided to head in instead. As she turned towards shore she noticed the brunette, now thirty yards away, talking to the other surfers who had glared at her and pointing in her direction.

Tobin paddled in and walked to the outdoor shower. She propped up her board next to the shower stand and then turned on the water. She stood under the falling water, closed her eyes and let the cool water wash over her head, down her face and over her body. She let her thoughts wander for a few minutes between the case and Alex and everything that had happened since she had started last week at the FBI, and she was just starting to think about her date last night with Alex and their kiss when she felt the water stop. She looked up and then around. And registered she was in trouble.

The four surfers who had glared at her in the water were now standing around her. The freckled one was an inch or two shorter than Tobin. The blonde with the chiseled features was about her height. The brunette who she had collided with had her hand on the water knob. She was a bit taller than Tobin. The brunette with the piercing eyes and hard jawline was even taller. All of the women had athletic builds. And all of them looked pissed off and ready to fight. 

“Is this the bitch who dropped in on you?” the tall, muscular brunette with the piercing eyes and hard jawline asked, staring right at Tobin.

“Yup, this is her”, said the other brunette who had slapped Tobin in the face.

Tobin put her hands up and started to speak, hoping she could pacify the four women and get off with just an apology. “Alright, look, I’m sorry. It was my fault.” She looked at the four women in front of her. None of them said anything, just continued to stare at her, so she continued. “And I know – this is the part where you guys tell me all about how the locals rule, and how outsiders like me shouldn’t be surfing the break, right?”

“Nope”, the brunette who had slapped Tobin said.

“That would be a waste of time”, the freckled woman said, drawing mean laughter from the others.

“We’re just gonna fuck you up”, the big brunette said.

“Oh”, Tobin said. She stood there for a moment, then grabbed her board and swung it at the big brunette. The big brunette stumbled and went down, and Tobin shoved the other brunette in the face with the board. She went down as well, and then Tobin swung at the blonde. She connected with a right hand, but as she did, she felt a hard blow to her side from the freckled woman. She paused, stunned for a moment, and the blond, who had recovered from Tobin’s punch, punched her back. Tobin’s head snapped back, and as it did, she felt herself being grabbed from behind. The big brunette had a hold of her, and the other brunette drilled two solid punches into her stomach. Tobin doubled over and the brunette who she had cut off hit her again.

“That’s what you get for dropping in on me, you fucking kook!” she said as she hit Tobin again. Tobin shut her eyes and braced herself for another blow when she heard a scuffling noise and a familiar voice. She opened her eyes to see Ashlyn pushing the brunette away from her. Ashlyn glared at the blonde and the freckled woman, and they backed away. Then she addressed the big brunette who was holding Tobin.

“Back off Hope”, Ashlyn said. “She’s with me.”

“Stay out of this, Ashlyn”, Hope spat out.

“Back off Hope, seriously”, Ashlyn said again, with more force. Hope glared at Ashlyn for a moment and then huffed and released Tobin, shoving her aside.

“Thank you”, Ashlyn said to Hope.

Tobin, recovering, looked at the brunette who had been hitting her. “What’s your name?” she asked.

“Carli”, the woman replied. “Why the fuck do you want to know my name?”

“Because I’d like to thank you”, Tobin said to Carli.

“For what? Kicking your ass?” Carli said, and Hope let out a mean chuckle.

“No. For letting me know who you are”, Tobin said, and with that she reached back and punched Carli square in the face. Carli screamed and grabbed her nose, and Tobin kicked her in the stomach. She went down, and Hope stepped in to grab Tobin, but Ashlyn hit Hope with a right cross. Hope stumbled and went down onto one knee, and Ashlyn delivered a fierce kick to Hope’s face, putting Hope on her back. The blonde tried to step in, but Ashlyn blocked her punch and landed two jabs and then a left hook, sending her to the ground. Meanwhile, the freckled woman had grabbed Tobin from behind, trying to apply a chokehold, but Tobin hit her in the face with a reverse head-butt, then planted two elbows into the freckled woman’s solar plexus. The freckled woman doubled over, and Tobin spun around and then delivered a knee right into her face. The freckled woman fell over backwards, leaving Tobin and Ashlyn as the only two women standing. They looked at each other as their four opponents laid on the ground, moaning.

“This is stimulating, Tobin, but we’re outta here”, Ashlyn said. She grabbed Tobin’s board, handed it to her, and the two of them made their way to the parking lot.

“So who were those chicks?” Tobin asked as they walked to their cars.

“Just some crazy assholes. The one you dropped is Carli Lloyd. The big one is Hope Solo. The other two, I don’t know, I think the blonde is named J.J., and the fourth one I think is Kelley, some little grom with a chip on her shoulder. They think they’re some kind of ‘locals only’ beach patrol gang or something”, Ashlyn said.

“What’s their problem?”

“Who knows. Too many drugs, not enough attention when they were kids, I don’t know”, Ashlyn said. “All I know is that their brains just aren’t wired right.”

“Huh…” Tobin said. “Think they deal drugs? Or maybe get into some other kinds of crime?” she asked, trying to probe a bit. These four women could definitely be potential Queen Team candidates.

“No idea”, Ashlyn said. “But that’s not what I’m talking about. They just don’t get the ride. They’re so jacked up and pissed off that they just don’t understand the spiritual side of surfing.”

“Sure”, Tobin said, even though she wasn’t quite sure what Ashlyn was talking about. She and Ashlyn walked for a few more feet and then Tobin stopped. “Well, this is my car”, she said.

Ashlyn turned and looked Tobin straight in the eye. “You still haven’t figured it out yet, have you?”

“Figured what out?” Tobin asked, confused.

“What surfing is all about...” Ashlyn let it hang.

“Well, um…” Tobin began, but Ashlyn cut her off.

“It’s a state of mind. It’s that place where you lose yourself and you find yourself, at the same time. It’s about feeling free, about being free. It’s about searching for the ultimate ride. That’s what surfing is all about.”

Tobin stared back at Ashlyn, taking that in. Then she stuck out her hand. “Well, thanks for stepping in today.”

“No problem”, Ashlyn said, shaking Tobin’s hand. She started to walk to her car and then said, “Hey, I’m having some people over tonight. You should come by.”

“Sure”, Tobin said. “Where do you live?”

Ashlyn paused for a moment and then said, “Come with Alex. She knows.” Then she gave Tobin a small smile, turned around and walked to her car.

 

********

 

Tobin waited in her car until the four women that she and Ashlyn had put down left the beach and got in their jeep. Tobin followed them as they pulled out of the parking lot and then called Abby.

“Abby – I’m leaving Latigo Beach right now. I just had a run-in with four women. I’ll give you the details later, but right now I need you to run a plate.” Tobin gave Abby the license plate off the jeep and then headed into the office. She arrived 20 minutes later and went straight to Abby’s office. “What do you have?” Tobin asked as she entered.

“The jeep is registered to a Carli Lloyd. She’s got an extensive rap sheet. Drug trafficking, felony assault, petty theft”, Abby said.

“These gals fit the bill”, Tobin said, and she told Abby about her run-in.

“Yeah, they sound like trouble. Can we make the leap to them robbing banks?” Abby asked.

“I wouldn’t put it passed them. I mean, they were going to put me in the hospital over a wave. What do you think they’d be willing to do for thousands of dollars in cash?”

“Good point”, Abby said. “I’ll run it by Jill and have her call for a warrant.”

 

********

 

Tobin, Abby, Shannon and Lauren were staked out down the street from Carli’s house. Carli’s jeep was parked outside in the driveway. Abby went over the game plan.

“Alright, the warrant should clear tomorrow morning. Tobin and I will sit here until tonight, then you two”, she said, pointing at Lauren and Shannon, “will have the overnight watch. LAPD SWAT will arrive right before dawn, on my call, to back us up. We raid at first light.”

“This better be the right crew, if we’re pulling an all-nighter on your suggestion”, Lauren growled at Tobin.

“These girls fit the profile”, Tobin said. “They’re mean, and they have prior records.”

“Alright”, Abby said. “You guys get lost. You’re back here at 9pm.” Lauren and Shannon left, and Tobin turned her attention back towards the house.


	10. Chapter 10

After Lauren and Shannon had returned to the stake out spot, Tobin had called Alex and told her about Ashlyn’s party. Now the two of them were walking into Ashlyn’s house, which was right on the beach in Santa Monica. About a hundred people were milling around, drinking and dancing to rock music. Tobin spotted Ashlyn over in the kitchen. She had a shot of Tequila in one hand, and she was facing a beautiful brunette with big brown eyes, who was smiling and holding a small wedge of lime in her teeth. As Tobin and Alex walked over, Ashlyn took the shot and then grabbed the lime with her own teeth from the brunette, and as she did, she gave the brunette a lingering kiss.

“Hey Ashlyn”, Tobin said as she and Alex walked up.

“Hey Tobin, glad you could make it”, Ashlyn said. She nodded at Alex and then motioned to the girl she had just kissed. “This is Ali”, she said by way of introduction.

“Hi Ali”, Tobin said. Ali smiled at Tobin but didn’t say anything. Then her smile faded a bit as she appraised Alex.

“I taught Ashlyn that trick”, Alex said with a smug expression on her face to Ali.

“I perfected it”, Ali said back.

Alex rolled her eyes and started to walk away. Tobin looked at Ashlyn as if to apologize, but Ashlyn smirked and said, “She’s a wild one, Tobin. Watch out for her.” Tobin smiled slightly and followed Alex out back to the beach.  
 

********  
 

“You okay?” Tobin asked Alex as they headed down the beach towards the water.

“Yeah, I’m fine”, Alex said. “I just don’t need to see that…my ex kissing some other girl.”

“I understand. Look, I’m sorry I asked you to come here with me tonight. We can go”, Tobin said.

“No, it’s okay. I mean, I’m cool to stay for a bit, and I can tell that you seem to be hitting it off with Ashlyn and her friends”, Alex said.

“Yeah”, Tobin said. “Well, thanks for staying for a bit. I owe you”, she said with a smile. Alex smiled back, and then Tobin leaned in and planted a sweet, appreciative kiss onto Alex’s lips. Alex returned the kiss, and Tobin felt her mouth start to open. Tobin’s tongue pushed its way into Alex’s mouth, and she was about to go in deeper when she heard Ashlyn call out, “Hey Tobin, Alex – we’ve got a bonfire going, get over here!” Tobin broke the kiss and looked at Alex, who looked back at Tobin, and then they both smiled at the interruption and started laughing at the bad timing. Then they walked up hand in hand to the bonfire. Ashlyn, Ali, Amy, Morgan and Whitney were already gathered around, talking about surfing big waves.

“And I’m dropping twenty-five feet straight down into the pit, and it’s like, holy shiiiiiiiit”, Morgan said, mimicking a surfing motion.

“Big wave riding is for idiots”, Alex said as she nuzzled into Tobin.

“No it’s not”, Ashlyn countered. “It’s the ultimate in commitment.”

“Yeah, I mean, when you’re out there, you can’t just call a ‘time out’ and stroll on in if you don’t like the way things are going”, Amy said, taking a swig of her beer.

“It’s stupid”, Alex said. “You could die out there surfing big waves.”

“But it’s the ultimate rush of adrenaline, and if you want the ultimate, you have to be willing to pay the ultimate price”, Ashlyn said. Whitney, Morgan and Amy all nodded their heads in agreement. Ali looked at Ashlyn in approval and stroked her hair, and Alex rolled her eyes.

“So, what’s the biggest wave ever ridden?” Tobin asked.

“Waimea, Hawaii”, Morgan said.

“Mavericks, northern Cali”, Whitney said.

“Bell’s Beach, Australia”, Ashlyn said.

“No way Bell’s is bigger than Waimea, dude”, Morgan said, shaking her head.

“It will be next year”, Ashlyn said. “The Fifty Year Storm is coming.”

“What’s that?” Tobin asked.

“It’s an urban legend”, Morgan said, rolling her eyes.

“No, it’s real”, Ashlyn said, addressing the group, then set her eyes on Tobin. “See, everything moves in cycles”, she said, and then turned her attention back towards the group. “Twice a century, once every fifty years, the earth sends us a message to let us know how small we really are. Large storms will generate in Antarctica next year and then travel north two thousand miles, and when they hit Australia, they will turn into the biggest surf this planet will ever see, and I will be there.”

“Hell yeah, so will I”, Whitney said, and Morgan and Amy whooped.

“Oh boy”, Alex said. “Too much bullshit here.” She gave Tobin a quick kiss on the cheek and then pulled away and started walking towards the garage. Tobin watched her walk away for a few seconds, then looked at Ashlyn, who raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders, and then Tobin started after Alex. She caught up to Alex in the garage. There were a bunch of surfboards on racks and photos lining the walls. Alex looked over at Tobin as Tobin walked in and then turned back to the photos. “They’re just a bunch of adrenaline junkies”, Alex said with a sigh. Tobin looked at the photos of Ashlyn, Whitney, Morgan and Amy surfing, skydiving, riding motorcycles, and engaging in other extreme sports and activities. She bumped her shoulder lightly against Alex’s, and Alex turned to her and smiled for a moment, and then said, “You’re not buying into Ashlyn’s bullshit like the rest of her crew, are you?”

“What do you mean?” Tobin asked, confused.

“Ashlyn – she’s like this guru leader person to these girls. They all follow her like she’s some kind of spiritual guide, or something.”, Alex said. She paused for a moment and then continued. “I watch your face, Tobin. You’ve got this gung-ho, kamikaze look, just like the rest of the girls, and you respond to Ashlyn when she talks to you. I can tell”, Alex said.

“Wait, Alex, what are you saying?” Tobin turned to face Alex. “Are you jealous of my friendship with Ashlyn, or something?”

“No, I’m not jealous”, Alex said. “I’m just saying that, well…she’ll take you to the edge. And beyond. And I don’t want to lose you to some stupid adrenaline sport accident, or something”, Alex said. She looked at Tobin with big eyes, and Tobin took Alex into her arms.

“Look, Alex, you’re not going to lose me. I’ll always be with y-“, Tobin was about to say “you” when a chorus of hooting and hollering interrupted her. She and Alex looked up to see Ashlyn, Whitney, Morgan and Amy running into the garage and grabbing surfboards and wetsuits.

“What’s going on?” Tobin asked.

“A little night surfing action”, Ashlyn said as she grabbed a board. “You up for it?” she asked with a challenging smile. Tobin looked at Alex, who shrugged her shoulders, and then Tobin looked at Ashlyn and nodded her head. “There we go!” Ashlyn said enthusiastically. She handed Tobin a surfboard and a wetsuit and then handed a board and a wetsuit to Alex as well. Then the group headed down to the beach behind the house. They suited up in the darkness and then charged into the water. The waves were head high, long rides to the right.

“I’m gonna die out here”, Tobin said as she paddled out.

“No you won’t. You’ll be fine”, Ashlyn said.

“Ha! I can barely surf in daylight when I can actually see”, Tobin said, as she looked towards the sky. It was a new moon, and the sky was dark except for the soft glow of the city lights behind them and a few stars in the sky.

“You don’t need to see”, Ashlyn said.

“Right”, Tobin said, sarcastically. “Vision is highly overrated.”

“Look – all you have to do is feel what the wave is doing, then accept its energy, get in sync, and go with it”, Ashlyn said.

“Great, sounds simple”, Tobin said sarcastically again. She and Ashlyn reached the takeoff spot and spun their boards towards shore.

“Alright, Tobin. I see a set coming. First wave has your name on it. Ready?” Ashlyn yelled over the roar of the water.

“Ready!” Tobin yelled back.

“Okay, go! Start paddling!” Tobin started to paddle. She felt the wave take her and she mentally tried to relax. She popped up on the board and, to her amazement, she remained standing, in the darkness, on a head high wave. She whooped with elation as she followed the wave’s path, staying in front of the white water. She looked behind her, and to her surprise, she saw Ashlyn right on her tail. Ashlyn gave her a thumbs up, and then put out her fist. Tobin fist bumped her, and then she lost her balance and fell off of her board. Ashlyn maneuvered around her and then jumped off her own board. “Way to go, Tobin!”, she said. “See what I mean? You don’t need to see. You just need to get in sync with the waves.”

“Wow”, Tobin said. “Yeah, I think I do see what you mean”, she breathed out as she collected her board. Did I just find myself and lose myself at the same time? She started thinking about that when she heard Alex yelling for her.

“Alright Tobs!” Alex yelled. Tobin couldn’t see Alex’s face in the distant darkness but she could tell from her voice that she was smiling. She also registered that Alex had called her by a nickname and not Tobin. She paddled over to Alex and gave her a kiss.

“Thanks, Lex”, Tobin said, returning a nickname to Alex. Alex smiled in the darkness and returned the kiss, then said, “Okay, my turn to catch a wave!”

The women spent the next hour in the water, then Whitney, Morgan and Amy headed for shore. Ashlyn caught a few more waves and then headed in.

“Do you want to head in?” Alex asked as she paddled up next to Tobin.

“No, I think I’m going to sit out here for a minute”, Tobin said, looking around.

Alex looked at Tobin for a moment and then laughed lightly. “Look at you”, she said.

“What?” Tobin asked.

“Well, normally you have this intense look on your face, like you’re on a mission or something, but right now…you almost look, I don’t know…relaxed…happy.”

Tobin looked back at her. I do feel relaxed and happy right now. I’m actually enjoying learning to surf, she thought. I’m enjoying making friends with these people. And I’m especially enjoying getting to know Alex Morgan. I know I started this whole thing as a job, but something’s happening, and now I feel…I don’t know what I feel, she thought. Tobin looked over at Alex, who was right next to her, laying on her board. She leaned over her own board so her face was right next to Alex’s, and then she planted a gentle kiss on Alex’s lips. Alex returned the kiss, and the two women lost themselves in a gentle liplock for a moment, until a rogue wave splashed them both in the face and brought them back to the present. Alex laughed lightly at the interruption, and Tobin shook her head and smiled.

“So, um…I guess we should head in?” Tobin said, in a statement that sounded like a question.

“Yeah, I guess so…” Alex said. Then she leaned in a kissed Tobin once more. “We can continue this on land…and then some”, she said with a coy smile. Then she splashed Tobin lightly with water and giggled playfully, turned around and started paddling towards shore. Tobin smiled and followed her in, a large grin on her face.


	11. Chapter 11

“How we lookin’?”, Tobin asked as she walked up to Abby, Lauren, Shannon and the SWAT team at the stakeout spot down the street from Carli’s house. Dawn was just breaking. After last night’s surfing excursion Tobin and Alex had made love on the beach and then had fallen asleep in each others' arms. The sound of a seagull cawing had woken Tobin up just thirty minutes ago. For a moment she hadn’t remembered where she was. Then she jumped up, eyes wide open. She put on her clothes in a hurry and kissed Alex goodbye, telling her that she had to run and that she would call her later. Then she had gotten into her car and hauled ass as fast as she could, swerving in and out of traffic until she had parked down the street from Carli’s house.

“We’re ready”, Abby said, then looked at Tobin. “Are those the same clothes you wore yesterday?”

“Yeah”, Tobin said as she checked her clip. She saw Abby staring at her and said, “It was a long night.”

“Are you okay?” Abby asked warily.

“Yeah, I’m fine”, Tobin said. “Ready to do this.”

“Okay then”, Abby said. “Here’s the plan. Boxxy, Lauren – you guys go in through the back door. Tobin – you cover the side door. I’ll go through the front with SWAT backing me up.” She paused for a moment and then said, “Everybody good?” Everyone nodded, and Abby said, “Let’s go.”

   
********  
 

“Freeze!” Abby said as she kicked down the front door. “FBI!” Gunfire came from the hallway. Julie fired and took down a SWAT team member. Two other SWAT team members fired back, and Julie dropped to the floor. Carli came out from a bedroom, guns blazing. Abby took aim and fired, putting her down. Kelley tried to make it out the back door but Shannon and Lauren were on their way in, and they kicked the door right into Kelley’s face. Kelley went down, screaming, blood gushing out of her nose, and Lauren held her down while Shannon slapped on the cuffs. Another woman, punky-looking with short-ish blonde hair was in the kitchen. She put her hands up as SWAT came in, but they knocked her into the ground and put her in cuffs. Hope tried to go out the side door, but Tobin tackled her, taking her to the ground. She landed on top of Hope and tried to turn her over to put on the cuffs, but Hope was stronger, and she flipped Tobin over and tried to apply a chokehold. Tobin started to wheeze, but she managed to secure Hope’s arm with her legs and, using leverage over strength, broke Hope’s chokehold and parlayed it into a side arm bar. Hope flipped over and then screamed as Tobin applied the pressure and popped Hope’s shoulder out of its socket. Then Tobin flipped Hope over and slapped on the cuffs. She hauled Hope up and took her out to the front yard, where Kelley was being shoved into a squad car. Carli’s body and Julie’s body were being covered in black tarps.

“Heath!” A voice yelled. Tobin looked over to see Jill in the front door of the house. “Get your ass in here right now!” Tobin walked into the house to see Abby and the punky woman with short-ish blonde hair standing in the living room. Abby had her head down and eyes to the ground. The punky woman was holding what looked like two white bricks, each the size of a small shoebox. She looked extremely pissed off.

“Special Agent Heath, I’d like you to meet Special Agent Megan Rapinoe of the DEA”, Jill said. Tobin cursed under her breath and closed her eyes.

“Do you know what this is?” Megan asked, eyes ablaze with anger as she held up what was in her hand. “Two kilos of uncut crystal meth.”

“Special Agent Rapinoe was working deep undercover, looking for the pipeline”, Jill informed Tobin.

“I’ve been working undercover for six fucking months, trying to get to whoever is supplying product to these scumbags. Two weeks ago, I finally got them to play wheel of fortune with me and take me on their next supply run. We were set to leave next week. And now you assholes show up. And you fucking ruined everything!” Megan screamed. Tobin just stared at her, in disbelief. These were drug dealers. Not bank robbers. Megan stared at Tobin for a moment and then started up again. “Six months I’ve been staying in this house with these scumbags. You think I like it here? My wife wants me to stay here and not come back.” She glared at Tobin and then said, “Tell me something, hot shot: how did these assholes rob the Wells Fargo in Venice Beach two weeks ago on August 7th when they were on the other side of the fucking country in Fort Lauderdale that day? Huh!?” Tobin remained silent, and then Megan threw the two bricks of meth at her. “Fuck you guys”, she said and stormed out. Jill raised her eyebrows and then said, “The next time you have me push a warrant through, it better be for the right scumbags.” She glared at Tobin and Abby and then walked out the front door.

   
********  
 

“Hey, you okay?” Alex asked. She and Tobin were laying in Tobin’s bed. After the raid Tobin had gone back to the office to fill out some paperwork and endure some more yelling from Jill. She had left around 4pm, grabbed her surfboard and paddled out for some waves at Palos Beach, then came back to her apartment and had dinner with Alex. Now it was around 10pm, and they had just finished making love. Tobin was laying on her back, and Alex was curled into her, her head resting on Tobin’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m okay”, Tobin said. “Just…had a bad day at work.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Alex asked. 

“No, it’s fine. And…I mean…I can’t really”, Tobin said. Alex looked up at her and Tobin said, “You know – like, confidential lawyer stuff.”

“Hmmmm…” Alex said as she laid her head back down on Tobin’s shoulder. “Well, I’m here for you, so let me know if you want to talk. And, I understand there are things about your job you can’t talk about, but remember baby – no secrets is best”, she said and lightly touched her finger to Tobin’s lips.

“I know, Lex”, Tobin said and smiled slightly, as she registered that Alex had just called her 'baby'. She tilted her head down and kissed Alex on her forehead and then closed her eyes. Dammit, she thought. She had been sure that she’d had the right crew. Now it’s back to square one. Tobin closed her eyes, thinking, as she heard Alex’s breathing go steady and watched as she slipped into a light slumber.


	12. Chapter 12

The doorbell woke Tobin out of her sleep. Actually, truthfully, she hadn’t really been sleeping very well. More like dozing. The doorbell rang again. She checked the time. It was just before 7am. Maybe it was Abby, and she had something new? Tobin crawled out of bed and threw on some sweats over her naked body, then she plodded to the door and opened it up to see Ashlyn, Whitney, Morgan and Amy.

“Morning’ Tobin”, Ashlyn said, wide awake.

“Hey, guys”, Tobin said, still sleepy. “What’s going on?”

Ashlyn started to reply but then flicked her gaze past Tobin. Tobin looked back to see Alex walking up behind her, wearing one of Tobin’s oversized T-shirts. She assumed Alex wasn’t wearing anything underneath. “Hey Alex”, Ashlyn said.

“Hi Ashlyn”, Alex said back, sleepily.

Tobin looked at Ashlyn. Something glittered like a knife’s edge in the blonde woman’s eyes. Jealousy, maybe? She decided to ignore it. “So, what’s up?” she asked.

“Head high walls at Latigo, dude”, Ashlyn said, then clapped her hands and rubbed them together. “We’ll meet you guys there!”

   
********  
 

Tobin and Alex pulled into the parking lot at Latigo Beach. They unloaded their boards and headed for the surf. Ashlyn, Whitney, Amy and Morgan were already in the water. Tobin’s eyes scanned the beach, and a small smile crept over her face as she realized that she wouldn’t be running into Hope and her crew here anytime soon. Then her eyes went to the surf, where Ashlyn, Whitney, Morgan and Amy had all taken off on the same wave. They rode side by side, laughing and shouting to each other. Ashlyn was in the lead, and she stalled, causing Whitney, who was right behind her to stall as well. Then Morgan, who was right behind Whitney, carved out a big turn and swooped in front of Whitney, spraying her with water. She put one fist in the air, looked back over her shoulder, and yelled something at Whitney. Tobin laughed at the antics, but something was bothering her.

“They’re a real tight crew”, Alex said, laughing at the antics as well.

Tobin stopped walking and turned to Alex. “Wait, what did you just say?”

“What? I just said they’re a real tight crew, the four of them. They’re like best friends. I mean, look at them out there”, Alex said, motioning to the water. “And they seem to like you, too. It’s cool, you know? That must mean something, for a tight crew like that to open up to someone new.”

A tight crew…a tight crew…Tobin thought. Abby had mentioned something like that. _Remember – this is a real tight crew. You’ll know if you meet them…_ Abby had said. Tobin continued to watch them. They were still riding the wave together. Morgan looked back again, laughing, and Whitney lifted both of her arms and flipped her the double bird. It was a warm day, and she was wearing only a rash guard and bikini bottom, and as she raised her arms her rash guard pulled up, exposing a couple inches of skin, and Tobin’s gut clenched as she glimpsed a solid tan line right around Whitney’s waist. _Look at the tan line on this asshole._ Abby had said when they had been reviewing tapes of the First National bank heist.

“Hey, are you okay, baby?” Alex said, putting her hand on Tobin’s arm. Tobin didn’t answer, still looking at the water, so Alex shook her arm a bit, until Tobin looked at her. “Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost or something.”

Tobin stared at Alex, as the memory of Abby’s words shot through her like fire. _I said forget it, kid. These people are ghosts._ Abby had said. Tobin’s mouth dropped open and her skin goosebumped as realization shot through her.

“Tobin, what is it?” Alex said, concern creeping into her voice.

“Uh…I gotta go”, Tobin said.

“Wait, what?” Alex said back.

“Uh…I just realized that…uh…I have a client meeting this morning. Totally forgot”, Tobin said, still staring at the water. “I’ll call you later, sorry, I gotta run”, she said.

“Wait, Tobin”, Alex said, but Tobin was already running back to her car.


	13. Chapter 13

Alex drove home from Latigo Beach, lost in thought. This morning had spun her mind into a jumble of confused thoughts. She liked Tobin, she was sure of that. Tobin was attractive, sweet to her, obviously interested, and intense, but in a good way. But there was something not quite right. Something was holding Tobin back. Alex had called Tobin ‘baby’ last night, and Tobin hadn’t returned it. Now, that didn’t necessarily mean that something was wrong, but Alex could feel that Tobin was keeping a part of her life a secret. Yes, Alex knew that there were things about Tobin’s job that Tobin couldn’t talk about, but she just couldn’t shake the feeling that something just felt off. Especially after Tobin had suddenly up and left the beach this morning, right when they were about to get in the water. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe random behavior was just the way Tobin was, but after what Alex had been through in her life, she didn’t want to start anything with Tobin only to have Tobin up and leave her without warning. I’m going to press her the next time I see her, Alex thought, as she pulled into her driveway.

   
********  
 

“What do you have?” Abby asked.

“I’ve been following them for the last few days, ever since you and I talked”, Tobin said. After she had left Latigo Beach in a hurry a few mornings ago, she had gone straight to the office and found Abby, and the two had discussed Tobin’s thoughts. Abby agreed it was possible that Ashlyn, Whitney, Morgan and Amy were the Queen Team, even though none of them had prior arrests. “So, they go here, they go there”, Tobin continued. “They go to a surf shop, buy some clothes and some new boards. They go out to eat. They go surfing.”

“Have you still been hanging out with them? I mean, you’ve been spending a lot of time with them. You all of a sudden not hanging out might look suspicious”, Abby said.

“I told them I have a real heavy workload this week. I told Alex the same thing.”

“Alex...your surfing contact, right? Anything I need to know about with you and her?”

“No, uh, we’re…” Tobin trailed off.

“You’re not together, is what you're going to tell me?” Abby questioned, edge in her voice.

“Yeah, I mean no. I mean, yeah, what I was going to tell you is no, we’re not together”, Tobin said. In truth she didn’t know what they were, since feelings were developing, at least on her end, and she was pretty sure on Alex’s end too, and as of two nights ago they were sleeping together, but she didn’t want to get into that with Abby, so she kept that to herself.

“Good. Remember – she’s just a part of the job. That’s it”, Abby said, pointing her finger at Tobin for emphasis, and at that mention, Tobin’s gut clenched. For some reason, that sounded so much more shallow now than it had a couple weeks ago. “So, what else?” Abby asked.

“Okay, get this”, Tobin said. “Yesterday, Ashlyn and Whitney stop at Southwest Savings And Credit Union on Santa Monica Boulevard. They’re inside for twenty minutes.”

“They’re scoping out the joint”, Abby theorized.

“Yep, that’s my bet. Then, Ashlyn and Whitney leave the bank and go right to their house. Morgan and Amy are there, and the four of them box up all of their stuff and take it to a storage unit. Then I lost them.”

“Shit”, Abby said. “Do you think they’ve fled the coup?”

“No. Not yet”, Tobin said, shaking her head. I bet they hit Southwest tomorrow for some travel money.”

“I hear that”, Abby said and looked at her watch. “Okay - it’s 6pm, so the bank is already closed for the day. We can stake it out starting tomorrow morning.” Abby was silent for a moment and then said, “You really think these women are the Queens?”

Tobin looked at Abby for a moment and then said, “Yeah, I do.” Then she said, “I know I was wrong on the last one, but I’m right this time. I can feel it.”  
 

********  
 

“Hey stranger, it’s nice to spend sometime with you”, Alex said, as she linked her fingers into Tobin’s. She and Tobin had met for ice cream on the Santa Monica Promenade and were now walking in a nearby park.

“I know, I’m really sorry. I just got slammed at work this week”, Tobin said.

Alex gave Tobin a wry smile. They walked in silence for a moment and then Alex said, “Ashlyn’s been asking about you.”

“Oh no – you’re not jealous of our friendship, are you?” Tobin groaned with a grin.

“No, silly. We’ve been through this, remember?" Alex said with a wink. "And I’m okay with you guys being friends, as long as you’re careful. Speaking of friendship, though, Ashlyn's wondering what your deal is. You haven’t hung out with the crew in like three or four days, ever since you bailed out on our surfing trip at Latigo Beach.”

“I know, and again, I’m sorry. I’ve just been so slammed”, Tobin said. She looked at Alex with apologetic eyes. I wish I could tell her, Tobin thought. I wish I could tell her the truth.

“What...?” Alex said, letting it hang.

“Huh?” Tobin said back.

“What were you thinking about just now?”

“Um…”

“No”, Alex said. She stopped walking and faced Tobin.

“What?”

“Not this time, Tobin.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is, whenever I ask you what you’re thinking about, you always mumble back some half-baked answer. Now, I’m not a lawyer, but I can tell when someone’s holding something back. I’ve let it slide before, but now I want to know. What are you thinking about?”

Tobin stared at Alex. I want to tell her so bad, but I just can’t. I’ll tell her after we bust the Queens. I’ll come clean, and hopefully she’ll not be mad, and we can still have a future together. “It’s just work stuff, and I’m sorry Alex, but I told you: I can’t always talk about everything that I do at work.”

Alex narrowed her eyes at Tobin. “Remind me again, what kind of work do you do?” she asked as she let go of Tobin’s hand.

“Alex, you know – I’m a lawyer.”

“Really? And exactly what kind of law do you practice, Tobin?” Alex asked, crossing her arms.

“Uh…criminal law”, Tobin sputtered out.

“Hmmmm…okay, well, I swear you have the weirdest lawyer hours. Like you go surfing during normal business hours, you hang out late at night, and then sometimes you just have to take off spontaneously right when we’re in the middle of something.”

Tobin couldn't come up with anything to say, so she just looked at Alex and shrugged.

“I thought we agreed that honesty was the best policy, Tobin.”

Tobin looked at Alex for a moment and then sighed. “Look, Alex, okay - I do have a lot on my mind right now, and a lot going on, and I really do want to tell you everything I’m thinking and doing, but I just can’t right now. Not while my case is going on. Once it’s over, I swear, I will tell you”, she said. “Is that okay?” she asked, and when Alex didn’t answer she said, “Please, Lex – I swear, I will tell you, but I just can’t talk about it right now.”

Alex looked at Tobin and sighed a put-out sigh. “Okay, Tobin. You can tell me later, I guess.” She stared at Tobin for a moment and then started to back up.

“Wait, Alex – where are you going?” Tobin asked.

“I’m going home, Tobin. You can call me when you’re ready to talk.”

“Alex…” Tobin said. She could tell Alex wasn’t happy with her. She also registered that Alex hadn’t called her ‘baby’ once tonight, which is what Tobin wanted so badly to call Alex, which I will, she thought, as soon as I can come clean about everything that’s going on.

“Bye, Tobin”, Alex said. She looked at Tobin for one more moment and then turned around and walked off.


	14. Chapter 14

Tobin and Abby were in Abby’s car, across the street from Southwest Savings And Credit Union. They had pulled up at 8am and hadn’t moved since. Stakeout work was for the most part pretty boring. Tobin felt her eyes shutting, and she jolted up in her seat.

“You alright there, kid?” Abby asked.

“Yeah”, Tobin said. “Just a little tired.” She hadn’t slept well last night, tossing and turning, replaying her conversation with Alex over and over in her head. She really needed to tell Alex. She needed to come clean. It just wasn’t fair to her. Well, maybe after today I can do that, Tobin thought. And if it all goes down today the way Tobin hoped it would, she prayed that Alex wouldn’t be upset with her for arresting Ashlyn and her friends because they turned out to be bank robbing criminals. Tobin didn’t see why Alex would be upset – it’s not like Alex and Ashlyn are together anymore-

“I’m hungry”, Abby said, bringing Tobin out of her thoughts. “It’s time for lunch.”

Tobin looked at her watch. “Abby, it’s 10:30.”

Abby ignored her and pointed through the windshield. “Up around that corner, there’s a sandwich shop. They make meatball subs. The best I’ve ever tasted. Get me two”, she said, patting Tobin on the leg.

“Really, Abby?”

“C’mon partner”, Abby said and patted Tobin’s leg again.

Tobin stared at Abby for a moment and then rolled her eyes and got out of the car. She got about twenty feet away when Abby leaned out the window. “Tobin – get me two!” yelled, putting two fingers in the air.  
 

********  
 

Tobin found the sandwich shop. It had an outdoor takeout counter that had a partial view of the bank, so Tobin ordered from there. She placed her order and then turned around and glanced at the bank. Nothing. She stared at the bank for a moment and then turned back to the counter when the cashier asked if she wanted anything to drink. Tobin added two drinks to their lunch order and was about to turn back to the bank when she felt a touch on arm. She looked over and was met with a pair of brilliant blue eyes and a pretty smile. “Are you allowed to carry that?” the woman asked shyly, pointing down at Tobin’s hip.

Tobin looked down and realized that her button down shirt was pulled up over her hip, exposing her gun. She silently cursed but smiled politely at the woman. “Yeah, it’s okay. I’m…a cop”, she said.

“Oooh, a cop, huh? The woman said coyly and smiled a little wider.

“Uh, yeah”, Tobin said, smiling back. Her mind wasn’t really on flirting right now, but the woman had a nice smile and very pretty eyes, so Tobin allowed herself to engage for a moment.

“And what are you doing here? Is the sandwich shop about to be robbed?” the woman asked and then giggled.

“No, not the sandwich shop. The b-“ Tobin stopped herself and then said, “I’m just here to get lunch.” As she said that, the cashier handed Tobin her order.

“Do you come here often?” the woman asked.

“Um, no, not really, but I might be here tomorrow or the next day", Tobin offered.

“Well, then I’ll come here myself tomorrow or the next day”, the woman said and then smiled. “I hope to see you.”

“Yeah, uh, you too”, Tobin said. She smiled back at the woman and then started back towards the car. She glanced at the bank. And froze.

Coming out of the bank were the Queens. They were getting into a four door sedan that was parked right outside the front door. Tobin hadn’t even seen the car pulled up, nor had she seen them enter. She had allowed herself to be distracted by that woman. Damn, she thought. She dropped the lunch and started sprinting towards the bank. She looked at Abby’s car, and apparently Abby hadn’t seen them enter, either. She was in the front seat, nose buried in her phone.

“Abby!” Tobin yelled. Abby looked up and saw Tobin running towards the bank. Then she looked at the bank and saw the Queens getting into the car. “Freeze!” Tobin yelled as she ran towards the bank. The Queens looked up and saw Tobin running at them, gun drawn. They heard tired squeal and saw Abby in her car, racing towards them from across the street.

“Shit!” Elizabeth said. She hopped in the driver’s seat. “Hurry up, get in!” she yelled. The other Queens jumped in the car and Elizabeth hit the gas.

“Get in, kid!” Abby yelled. She pulled up to Tobin, who dove through the front passenger window with the car still moving, then Abby hit the gas and off they went in pursuit of the Queens. They sped down Santa Monica Boulevard and then followed the Queens as they took a hard left onto La Cienega. Tobin leaned out her window and fired a few shots at their car. One of them dinged the back.

“Shoot these bitches!” Elizabeth screamed. Mary, who was sitting right rear side, turned around and blasted a round with her shotgun at the rear view window. It shattered, and then she fired a round out through the back.

“Shit!” Abby yelled as the round shattered her front windshield. “I can’t see!”

“I got it!” Tobin said. She kicked the front windshield glass to loosen it the rest of the way and then punched it clean, and it fell to the road. She fired a few shots at the Queen’s car. One of them hit the rear right wheel, and the car started to wobble.

“Shit!” Elizabeth yelled. “They hit a tire!”

“Goddammit!” Mary screamed.

“What are we gonna do?” Daenerys yelled.

“We gotta ditch the car. I’m pulling into the gas station up ahead”, Elizabeth said. She swerved over two lanes and pulled into the gas station. She rammed her car into a car belonging to a man who was already gassing up, and the Queens piled out, guns in hand. The man took off running. “Grab the money and go!” Elizabeth yelled. “I’ll take care of the car!” Daenerys and Cleopatra grabbed the duffel bags as Mary stood watch, and then the three of them ran towards the alley in back of the gas station. People in the gas station and on the street were staring. Elizabeth grabbed the gasoline hose that the man who was filling up his car was using and sprayed her car with gasoline. Then she pulled out a lighter and threw it onto her car. It caught fire just as Tobin and Abby pulled up, and Elizabeth ran down La Cienega. Tobin opened her door and took off after her.

“Tobin, wait! Goddamit!” Abby said. She got out of her car and started yelling at the customers in the gas station. “Get out of here! Go!” People scattered, and then Abby got back in her car and backed out into the street, just as the Queen’s car exploded into a big ball of flame.

   
********  
 

Tobin sprinted after Elizabeth, who was half a block ahead, running full tilt down La Cienega, then ducked onto a side street. She followed Elizabeth, who kept running full tilt and then turned into a park down the block. She ran after Elizabeth through the park, and then saw Elizabeth disappear, apparently headed down a slope. Tobin slowed her speed a bit as she approached the slope and started going down herself, but her foot caught some gravel and she started sliding down. She tried to catch her footing, and her foot found solid ground, but she was moving fast, and her knee, the knee of her college soccer injury, gave way and she cried out in pain as she tumbled the rest of the way down the slope into a drainage ditch. Her head hit the concrete on the bottom of the ditch hard, and when she looked up, Elizabeth was scaling a fence at the far side of the ditch, just thirty feet away. Tobin unholstered her gun from her position lying on the ground, pointed it at Elizabeth and yelled, “Freeze!”

Elizabeth stopped climbing and turned towards at Tobin. Tobin had her. One squeeze of the trigger and Elizabeth would fall to the ground. But Elizabeth knew that wasn’t going to happen. She wasn’t sure how Tobin had put it together. Either that or Tobin had just so happened to be scoping the bank they happened to hit today, but Elizabeth was sure that the former was more likely. Tobin had put it together. Regardless, though, she knew that Tobin wasn’t going to shoot her. They had grown too close.

Tobin kept the gun trained on Elizabeth. Elizabeth stared back at her for a few seconds. Then Tobin sensed a smile coming from behind the mask, and Elizabeth started climbing over. Tobin gritted her teeth and refocused her aim, but she just couldn’t bring herself to shoot Ashlyn, who she was sure was Elizabeth. Elizabeth got one foot over the fence and paused, looking back at Tobin. This was it – Tobin’s last chance to shoot. Tobin kept her gun trained on Ashlyn for a few minutes and then gritted her teeth, pointed her gun up towards the sky and emptied her clip, yelling in frustration. Ashlyn stared at her for another moment and then dropped over the other side of the fence and took off.


	15. Chapter 15

Tobin and Alex were at Tobin’s apartment. Tobin was sitting on the toilet with the lid down. Alex was dabbing the scratches and bruises on her face that Tobin had acquired when she fell down the drainage ditch.

“So, you didn’t see the car?” Alex asked.

“No”, Tobin said. “He hit me and then just took off.”

“Jesus”, Alex said, as she dabbed a raspberry on Tobin’s forehead. “People are such jerks sometimes.”

“Yeah…” Tobin drifted off. Alex kept dabbing Tobin’s wounds with a damp cloth for another minute, and then she leaned down and planted a kiss onto Tobin’s lips. Tobin returned the kiss, thinking about what she was going to say next. She had decided she was going to come clean. She couldn’t stand withholding who she really was from Alex anymore. She broke the kiss and took the cloth from Alex’s hand and set it on the bathroom sink, and then took Alex’s hands in her own and looked into her eyes. “Listen, Alex”, Tobin said. “I know we need to talk. Or, more like, I know I have things to tell you.” She exhaled deeply and then said, “There’s something I need to say to you. It’s really important, and it could seriously affect things between us-“

“Shhhh…”, Alex said. She put her finger to Tobin’s lips. She wanted to hear, but right now she felt bad for Tobin, and she just wanted to comfort her, and for her to get better. Whatever Tobin had to tell her, she could wait to hear it until Tobin got better. “Some other time”, she whispered, and then planted a lingering kiss on Tobin’s lips.

Dammit, Tobin thought, as her resolve melted away. Oh well, she thought as she melted into the kiss. I’ll tell Alex tomorrow…

   
********  
   
Ashlyn, Whitney, Morgan, Amy and Christen were standing on the beach behind their house. It was just past sundown. There was a chill in the air, and it wasn’t just the dropping temperature.

“You’re acting like nothing happened today!” Amy/Cleopatra yelled at Ashlyn/Elizabeth.

“Relax, A-Rod”, Ashlyn said in an even tone.

“Don’t fucking tell me to relax, Ashlyn. That woman is a fucking federal agent.”

“I should have blown her fucking head off today”, Whitney/Mary said.

It was silent for a moment. Ashlyn looked around and then started in. “Do you realize we have hit thirty banks in three years? And no one has been able to touch us. This only ups the stakes of the game.”

“Fuck the stakes, Ashlyn!” Morgan/Daenerys said in a panicked voice. “The only person this is a game to is you, dude! This is serious shit, and I am scared. I say we take the money and leave right now.”

“Money?” Ashlyn scoffed. “You think this is about money?” she snarled. She glared at Morgan, who tried to hold Ashlyn’s stare but couldn’t and dropped her eyes down to the ground. Ashlyn stared at her for another moment and then addressed the group. “This has never been about the money. This is about us against the system – the system that enslaves the human spirit.” She motioned to the group, and like all great speakers, her voice grew in conviction while at the same time she was able to connect with each person individually. “We stand for something, and that something is the human spirit. We stand to show those poor souls inching along the highway in their metal coffins that the human spirit is still alive.” She ended her speech definitively and looked at her compatriots. All of them were nodding back. Then she looked at each member and asked her in turn, “So – do you trust me?” And every one of them, even Morgan, nodded back and smiled, confident in their leader. “Then don’t worry about Tobin Heath. I know exactly how to take care of her”, Ashlyn said, an edge in her voice.

   
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-  
 

The figure crept through the dark apartment, gun in hand. The FBI agent was sleeping in her bedroom. The figure crept into the bedroom, raised her arm, and pointed the gun at the sleeping FBI agent laying on the bed.


	16. Chapter 16

BANG!!!

The sound of a gunshot rattled Tobin from her sleep, and she sprung up in bed, eyes wide open, to see Alex standing at the foot of her bed, dressed, holding Tobin’s gun, tears in her eyes.

“Alex-“ Tobin began, putting her hand up.

“Liar!” Alex screamed, and threw Tobin’s FBI badge onto the bed. 

“Alex, please, I can explain-“ Tobin stared again.

“You’re a fucking liar!” Alex yelled, gun arm shaking.

“Please, Alex. Please, put the gun down”, Tobin said, hands up, pleading.

Alex stood there staring at Tobin. Tears were streaming down her face. She stared at Tobin for another moment and then started to lower the gun. “How could you do this to me?” she asked in a shattered whisper.

“Alex, please”, Tobin said. She started to get out of bed, but Alex raised the gun again, so Tobin remained in bed. “Alex, this is what I wanted to tell you”, she began to explain. “I wanted to tell you, so many times, but I just couldn’t risk you getting hurt if you knew the truth.”

“How could you do this?” Alex asked Tobin. “Don’t you have a soul?” When Tobin didn’t answer Alex said, “Fine, so you don’t have a soul, you heartless asshole. Then maybe you can at least tell me what you’re doing. What case are you working? And why the hell did you ever come into my life?” Tobin stared at Alex for a moment, and when she didn’t answer, Alex yelled, “Tell me!”

“I’m working a case involving bank robbery”, Tobin explained. “The perpetrators may be surfers.”

Alex huffed. “And that’s why you asked me to teach you to surf”, she said, putting it together. “You used me to get undercover.”

“Look, Alex-“

“How could you do this to me, Tobin? _How could you!?_ ” Alex screamed. “After everything we talked about, after all of the things I told you about me, how could you!?”

“Alex, please - I’m so very sorry.” Tobin took a deep breath and then exhaled, measuring her words. “Look, when I started working on this case, it was true – I really did just need to get undercover. But…after I met you, I started falling for you, Alex. And that’s the truth. The God’s honest truth. I’ve fallen for you, Alex. I’ve fallen for you, and I want to be with you.” She stared at Alex, who stared back at her, saying nothing, tears still streaming down her face. “Look, Alex, I’m really sorry about everything, I truly am. But please – please understand that I did want to tell you, and once I fell for you, the only reason I didn’t tell you is because I was worried about your safety.”

Alex stared at Tobin for another moment and then asked the question that she wanted to ask the least. “Did your parents really die in a car crash?”

“Alex-“

“Did your parents die in a car crash, Tobin?” Alex said, measuring each word.

Tobin stared at Alex and then exhaled a deep breath. “They live in Basking Ridge, New Jersey”, Tobin said.

Alex stood there, staring at Tobin. A fresh set of tears started rolling down her cheeks. She stared at Tobin through teary eyes and said, “How could you, Tobin?” one last time, then lowered the gun, dropped in onto the floor, and then grabbed her purse and ran out of Tobin’s apartment.

“Wait, Alex!” Tobin said. She sprung out of bed to go after Alex, but her injured knee gave way. She heard a sharp crack, and then she fell down onto the floor, crying in pain, as she heard Alex’s car start up and drive away.


	17. Chapter 17

Alex sped down the freeway, tears in her eyes. She couldn’t believe that Tobin had lied to her. After she had patched Tobin up, Tobin had taken some painkillers and had fallen asleep. Alex had laid down next to her and tried to fall asleep as well, but her mind kept spinning, so she got up and started searching through Tobin’s apartment. She didn’t know what she was searching for, but she figured that maybe aimlessly poking around would shed some light on that part of Tobin that Tobin was withholding from her. Alex knew it wasn’t really on the up and up to be snooping around, but she hadn’t been able to help herself. Plus, she reasoned, if Tobin wasn’t hiding anything, I wouldn’t need to poke around. Now, as she sped down the freeway, she thought: I knew something wasn't right. I knew it but I didn't want to believe it. It was too good to be true. Of course that’s how it goes for me, she thought. My life is cursed, I guess. Now what do I do? Alex thought some more as she drove around for a bit, and then an idea crossed her mind, and she got off the freeway and headed towards the beach in Santa Monica.

   
********  
 

The buzzer woke Tobin up out of a dead sleep. She had tossed and turned for most of the night but had apparently managed to fall asleep for a bit. Now she was really tired and out of it. The buzzer rang again. She looked at her clock: 6am. Too early for Abby to be stopping by. It’s Alex, Tobin thought, in her half-asleep state. Tobin knew Alex was upset. Maybe she just needed to cool off, and now she’s back. “Alex, hang on, I’m coming”, Tobin yelled. She threw on some sweats and a t-shirt and stumbled to the door. She opened up the door, preparing to apologize and plead her case again, but instead found Ashlyn, Whitney, Morgan and Amy standing in front of her.

“Hey dude”, Ashlyn said flatly.

“Hey guys, look, I’m not up for surfing right now”, Tobin said, and tried to shut her door, but the women were already pushing their way in.

“Oh no, Tobin, we’re not going surfing, we’ve got something else planned for today”, Ashlyn said.

“Yeah, you’re gonna love this”, Whitney said.

“C’mon, let’s get you together”, Morgan said. She opened up Tobin’s dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans, a shirt, and some socks. She grabbed a pair of tennis shoes and gathered everything into her arms.

“Let’s go”, Ashlyn said, pushing Tobin towards the front door.

“Hang on, I need my wallet and purse”, Tobin said. She tried to turn back inside, looking to grab her gun, but Whitney and Amy grabbed her, turned her towards the door, and ushered her out, telling her that she wouldn’t need anything but clothes. They led her into their van and then Ashlyn started the engines. They drove for thirty minutes and then pulled into Santa Monica Airport. Ashlyn and Whitney ushered Tobin into a small charter airplane while Morgan and Amy loaded some gear onto the plane. The pilot hit the gas and the plane took off east towards the Inland Empire.

”Where are we going?” Tobin asked.

“To a lake”, Whitney said, smiling.

“Twelve thousand feet above it, actually”, Morgan said, smiling as well.

“Here it is”, Ashlyn said. She held up a parachute rig and tossed it to Tobin. “It’s the ultimate rush of adrenaline”, she said. “All you gotta do is pull the chute.”  
“Sounds like a great time, but I hurt my knee the other day”, Tobin said, keeping up the charade that she didn’t know it was Ashlyn behind the Elizabeth mask.  
“Oh yeah, I noticed that”, Ashlyn said. “Well, not to worry, you won’t be landing on solid ground.”

Tobin looked at her rig for a moment and then asked, “Who packed my chute?”

“I did”, Ashlyn said. “Don’t you trust me?”

“You have to earn trust”, Tobin said in a hard voice.

Ashlyn stared at her for a moment and then said, “Fine. “I’ll take that one.” She grabbed the rig back from Tobin, grabbed the rig that Amy was holding and threw it to Tobin. “Use that one then.”

“Wait, hold on, Tobin. You don’t want that one”, Amy said, taking her rig back. “That one’s set for a neckbreaker. Here – take this one”, she said, grabbing the one that Whitney was holding and tossing it to Tobin.

Tobin caught the pack and then threw it right back at Whitney. “Are we going to jump or just play hot potato all day?” she asked, an edge in her voice.

“That’s my girl!” Ashlyn exclaimed, and Whitney, Morgan and Amy laughed. Then Ashlyn held up the original rig that she had given Tobin. “Alright, look – do you want this rig? Or another rig? You can choose any one you want.” Tobin sighed and then motioned for the rig that Ashlyn was holding up. Ashlyn smiled and tossed it over, and then the pilot came over the intercom. 

“Looks like we’re ready to drop”, Ashlyn said, then she addressed the pilot. “After we jump, take the plane back to Santa Monica Airport, top off the tanks, and wait for us. We’ll meet you there in a couple hours”. The pilot nodded, and then Ashlyn pulled open the hatch. The women suited up, and Ashlyn yelled, “Moe – you’re first.” Morgan walked over to the hatch. She looked at the group, waved and then jumped.

“A-rod!” Ashlyn yelled. Amy walked to the hatch, gave the group a thumbs up and then jumped.

“Ms. Engen!” Ashlyn yelled. Whitney walked over to the hatch and jumped out backwards, throwing two middle fingers up in the air as she dropped. Ashlyn laughed and then looked at Tobin. “You ready there, champ?” she asked.

“You first!” Tobin said.

“Ashlyn said, “No – we jump together. Trust, right?”

“Right!”

“Okay”, Ashlyn said. She took Tobin’s hand and pulled her to the hatch. “One, two-“ and then jumped, pulling Tobin with her.  
 

********  
 

Tobin couldn’t believe the feeling. She was plummeting towards the earth at 120 miles an hour. She whooped for what felt like minutes, and then she spotted Whitney, Morgan and Amy below her. She looked over and saw Ashlyn right beside her. Ashlyn grinned at Tobin and then streamlined her body into a torpedo-like form and shot ahead. Tobin mimicked Ashlyn’s posture and found herself hurling forward like a dart. She was catching up to Morgan, Whitney and Amy, who were each falling in a spread eagle position with their knees bent, which Tobin assumed slowed their fall. She saw Ashlyn catch up to them and hit the breaks, and then the four of them joined hands. Tobin saw Ashlyn look up and motion to her, and then Tobin mimicked their spread eagle position. She felt herself slow down as she approached the group, and then Ashlyn and Whitney broke hands, letting Tobin in between them. Then they joined hands with her, Ashlyn on Tobin’s left, Whitney on Tobin’s right, and the five women plummeted towards the earth, smiling and whooping. Then they broke hands, preparing to deploy chutes. Ashlyn kept a hold of Tobin’s hand.

“How do you feel?” Ashlyn yelled.

“Amazing!” Tobin yelled back.

“Ready to pull the chute?”

“You first!” Tobin said. As caught up in the moment as she was, she still didn't trust Ashlyn. “I insist.”

“Okay”, Ashlyn said. She reached over and pulled the rip cord on Tobin’s rig, then let go of Tobin’s hand as Tobin’s chute deployed. Tobin yelled as the chute took hold, jarring her body out of her freefall into a comparatively still momentum, and then she looked around her. The view was amazing. She could see the San Bernardino Mountains, then the sprawling city of L.A., and then the endless blue of the Pacific Ocean beyond that. I can’t believe what I’m doing right now, she said to herself, as she floated down to the lake below.

   
********  
 

“Woooooooo!!! That was intense!” Whitney yelled as they got out of the water.

“Last jump of the summer”, Morgan said.

“Maybe”, Amy said with a smile. “Maybe we can get one more in.”

Ashlyn looked at her and then smiled.

“Tobin, go ahead and take your pack off and leave it with me. I’ll take care of it for you”, Morgan said. She helped Tobin out of her pack and then lightly shoved her towards Ashlyn.

“How you feelin’, Tobin?” Ashlyn asked, putting her arm around Tobin, a big smile on her face.

“Wow, that was amazing”, Tobin said. It really had been amazing, and for a moment, she had yet again forgotten that she was working a case, let alone at a critical juncture and in a potentially dangerous situation.

“I know, right? Anyway, come in here and check this out”, Ashlyn said. She led Tobin into the back of the van and shut the door. She reached for a duffel bag and pulled out a laptop and handed it to Tobin.

“What’s this, Ashlyn?” Tobin asked.

“Just open it up”, Ashlyn said. Tobin stared at Ashlyn and then opened up the laptop. And froze. On the screen was a video. Or maybe a live stream. In the video was Alex. She was naked except for a bra and underwear. She looked like her arms were tied behind her back, and she had a gag in her mouth. Standing behind her was Christen. She had a knife to Alex’s throat and a menacing look on her face. Alex stared at the screen for a moment longer and then shifted her stare towards Ashlyn. “She sure is beautiful, isn’t she, Special Agent Heath?” 

Tobin stared at Ashlyn for a moment and then dropped the laptop and punched Ashlyn right in the face. Ashlyn went down, and Tobin jumped on top of her. She grabbed Ashlyn in a choke hold and applied the pressure. “Where is she?!” she yelled at Ashlyn.

“Whoa whoa whoa”, Ashlyn choked out. “Think it through, dude – I’m the only one who knows where she is.”

Tobin stared at Ashlyn, then released her choke hold. She took Ashlyn’s head and slammed it against the floor of the van. Ashlyn yelped. “Tell me where she is!” Tobin barked, ready to slam Ashlyn’s head again.

“I can’t do that, dude”, Ashlyn said. “But we can go get her together.”

“No!” Tobin said, hauling Ashlyn up and slamming her against the side of the van. She stared at Ashlyn for a moment and then said, “How can you fucking do this, Ashlyn? Alex was your girlfriend!”

“And then you came along!” Ashlyn yelled. “But yes, Alex was my girlfriend. Don’t you see? That’s why I need Press. I could never hold a knife to Alex’s throat!”

“This is fucking crazy”, Tobin said.

“Maybe so”, Ashlyn said. “But crazy or not, I can tell you this. Press is like a machine, and once you set her in motion she will not stop. It’s 8am right now, and when the clock strikes twelve, Press is gonna gut Alex like a pig, and there’s nothing I can do about it unless I get to her in time.”

“Goddamit, Ashlyn”, Tobin said and kneed Ashlyn in the stomach. Ashlyn coughed and doubled over. “Tell me where she is right now!”

Ashlyn stared at her for a moment and then started laughing through her coughs. “Nope. It’s not gonna work like that, Special Agent Heath. See, the only way you’re gonna get what you want, which is Alex back safely and unharmed, is for me to get what I want.”

“And what do you want?” Tobin hissed.

“I can’t tell you that. You’ll just have to wait and see”, Ashlyn said. “Now, the clock is ticking, and we’ve got one more stop to make. So, what’s it gonna be?”

Tobin stared at Ashlyn, then stared at the laptop laying on the floor of the van. “We’re wasting time”, she said.

Ashlyn laughed and then said, “That’s what I love about you. Not only are you crazy, but you’re as sharp as a razor.” She grinned at Tobin and then opened up the back of the van. Whitney, Morgan and Amy were standing there, smiles on their faces, rigs repacked, ready to go. “Alright, let’s rock!” Ashlyn said, and the women jumped in the van.


	18. Chapter 18

Alex tried to relax as the car rumbled along. She had no idea where she was, since she had been blindfolded and stuffed in a trunk, but they had been driving for a couple of hours. After she had left Tobin’s she had driven around for a bit and then had got it in her head for some reason that she should go to Ashlyn’s. She had arrived at Ashlyn’s around 3am and had told Ashlyn what had happened. Ashlyn had listen sympathetically, and then had told Alex to go relax on the couch and had offered her a glass of water. The next thing Alex knew, she was almost naked, gagged and in front of a camera, and Christen was pressing a knife to her throat. Then Christen had removed the gag but had thrown a blindfold over her head, shoved her in the trunk of a car, and had started driving.  
Alex tried to remain strong as the car hummed along, but she couldn't, and she started sobbing. I’m so sorry, Tobin, she thought. She hoped Tobin was okay. And she hoped Tobin would be coming to save her.

   
********  
 

The van hummed along the I-10 freeway going west, towards Santa Monica. Amy was driving. Tobin, Ashlyn, Morgan and Whitney were in the back. Morgan was sorting through outfits. Whitney was checking weapons. Ashlyn was spouting Zen-like wisdom.

“It’s basic dog psychology”, Ashlyn said. “You get them pissing down their leg, and they submit. If you project weakness, you draw aggression, and that’s when people get hurt”, Ashlyn said. She put on her Elizabeth outfit and then tossed Tobin a bulletproof vest.

“Peace through superior fire power”, Whitney said, and everyone but Tobin laughed.

“Fear causes hesitation”, Ashlyn said. “And hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true” Then she looked at Tobin straight in the eyes. “I know you know what I mean. I saw you with Hope and her crew. You didn’t hesitate. You weren’t afraid, and they didn’t back you down an inch. And that is very rare in this world.” She paused as she continued to stare at Tobin and then said, “We’re not that much different, you and I, Special Agent Heath.”

“Only that you’re a fucking criminal, Ashlyn!” Tobin spat back, and Whitney laughed. “All of you are. This is your fucking wake-up call. I am an FBI agent!”

“I know, dude, and isn’t it cool?” Ashlyn said smugly. “See, that’s the thing: we can exist on a different plane. Why be a slave to the system, when you can be its master?”

Tobin just stared at Ashlyn, and then Whitney handed her an empty shotgun. Morgan handed out the masks, and then looked at Tobin as she came up short for her. “Sorry Tobin”, she said. “You don’t get to play Queen today”, she said, and the other Queens laughed as they donned their masks.

Tobin stared at the four women as they finished getting ready, and then she felt the van exit the freeway. “Wait – where are we going?” she asked, looking around, then looked at Ashlyn. “We’re on a time schedule here!”

“Don’t worry, I’ve allowed for this little stop in our schedule”, Ashlyn said. “See, that’s your problem, Special Agent Heath. You’re always so uptight, always in a hurry. You need to stop and relax a bit, take a breather, take a side trip, enjoy life a bit”, she said, and the others laughed. “Besides, this will only take ninety seconds”, Ashlyn said with a laugh. Then she stopped laughing and said, “Who knows? You might enjoy this. It’s a killer rush!”

Tobin glared at Ashlyn. She wanted to strangle the life out of her right now, but she couldn’t. She needed to find Alex, and that meant playing Ashlyn’s game, and as the van approached its destination, a thought crossed Tobin's mind. There was one thing that Ashlyn was right about: If Tobin got out of this unscathed, she was going to make it a point to slow down and enjoy life. She was going to hold Alex close, tell her she loved her, and never let her go.

   
********  
 

“Freeze! Everybody down! Hands behind your heads!” Ashlyn yelled as The Queens plus Tobin, who was the only one of the five not wearing a mask, stormed the Bank Of America in West Covina, CA. Ashlyn fired a shot into the ceiling and patrons screamed and hit the floor. Whitney, true to form, leveled the security guard at the front door, then headed for the far wall. Amy and Morgan took their positions. Ashlyn put her arm around Tobin and then pointed to a security camera. “Smile - you're on camera”, she said with a laugh. She clapped Tobin on the back and then jumped up onto a counter.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen”, Ashlyn said, going into her schpeel. She motioned to Amy, who moved behind the tellers and started emptying the cash drawers with Morgan.

Tobin moved over to a security guard who was lying face down near the left well. “Hey”, she whispered. The security guard looked up. “I’m FBI.” The security guard’s eyes went wide open. “Yes, you heard me correctly”, Tobin said. “How good of a shot are you?” she asked. The security guard bobbed his head back and forth in a so-so fashion, and Tobin said, “Okay. Reach for your gun. I don’t have any bullets in this gun, but I’ll stand in front of you. Then, when you’re ready to fire, tap my leg and I’ll move. Got it?” The nodded, and Tobin moved in front of him. The security guard moved his hands off his head and started to reach for his gun.

“Time!” Whitney yelled.

“Not yet!” Ashlyn yelled.

“What!?” Whitney yelled. “We gotta go!”

“No!” Ashlyn yelled. “We gotta make some more loot.”

“I thought this wasn’t about the money!” Morgan yelled as she looked up from the drawer she was emptying.

“Keep going!” Ashlyn barked.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Tobin yelled at Ashlyn. “You’re blowing your own gameplan, dude! We’re on a schedule!”

“ _I_ make the schedule!” Ashlyn said, and pointed her gun at Tobin. Tobin grimaced at Ashlyn. She stood there for a minute and then felt the tap on her leg. She looked down at the security guard. The guard nodded at her, and then Tobin stepped away and the security guard fired.

“Shit! Ashlyn said as the security guard's bullet sailed wide. She returned fire. Tobin dove for cover, but the security guard was not as quick, and he was shot and killed. Mary turned and fired in Tobin’s direction as well, and Tobin took cover behind a stand of withdrawal slips. Morgan stopped stuffing her bag with cash. She came around to the front of the teller stations and raised her gun to fire, but the security guard who Whitney had leveled on her way in had recovered. He took aim at Morgan and fired. Two bullets hit the vest, but the third bullet hit her in the head, and she went down. Mary screamed and fired three blasts into the security guard, blowing him apart. Then Ashlyn screamed and jumped down from her counter. She ripped off her mask and tossed it onto the floor, then ran up to Morgan and cradled her head in her arms.

“No, Moe, stay with me, stay with me”, Ashlyn said. Morgan gasped for a moment and then went limp.

“C’mon, Ash, we gotta go, now!” Whitney screamed, bolting for the door. Amy zipped up her bag and sprinted out, Whitney right behind her. Ashlyn stared at Morgan, lying on the ground, a gunshot wound in her head and a duffel bag full of money beside her, and let out a wail of rage. Then she stood up. She looked over at Tobin and a dark look came over her face. Tobin stared her down as she walked over. She stopped a foot away from Tobin and the two stared face to face.

“She’s dead because of _you_ , Ashlyn”, Tobin said. Ashlyn stared at Tobin for a moment, and then her face turned up into a scowl. She clocked Tobin over the head with the butt of her gun, and Tobin went black.


	19. Chapter 19

When Tobin came to she was in handcuffs, sitting in a chair. A uniformed officer came over and started reading her rights. She was just about finished when Abby stomped in.

“Take the cuffs off”, she told the uniformed officer.

“No! Leave them on.” Abby and Tobin looked over to see Jill storming over.

“Jill, these are the-“

“I don’t want to hear it!” Jill shouted. “There are two dead security guards in here, and I want to know what the hell happened!” When neither Tobin or Abby answered Jill said, “Yup. That’s what I thought. No answers. You”, she said, looking at Tobin, “I want to know what you were doing here with a shotgun in your hand.” Tobin said nothing, so Jill grabbed her by the collar. “What the hell happened, Heath!?”

“Get your hands off of me”, Tobin growled.

“Jesus Christ, back off Jill. We’re all on the same team here”, Abby said.

Jill scoffed. She looked at Abby and said, “That’s just priceless. Fucking Disney moment here. You know what? That’s why I put you two together. Because you’re both alike. Both total screw ups. You’re just a little older and a little slower, Abby, but you’re just as dumb.”

Abby moved Tobin back and got in Jill’s face. “You know what, Jill? I’ve had just about enough of your shitball attitude. We’re the only ones who have even gotten close to nailing these guys, and you’re acting like an asshole. And you know what? There’s something I know that you don’t, something I’ve learned after all these years that you still haven’t learned.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that, Abby. Why don’t you astonish me, shitface”, Jill said. Abby stared at her for a moment and then leaned back and socked Jill right in the face. Jill hit the ground and laid still, and Abby said, “Respect. Plain and simple.” Then she took Tobin by the arm. “C’mon, kid – let’s go get these assholes”, she said, then led Tobin out of the bank and to her car. She put Tobin in the passenger’s side and then got behind the wheel, fired up the engine, and off they went.

“I know where they’re going”, Tobin said.

“I figured you would”, Abby said. She pulled out a handcuff key and unlocked Tobin’s cuffs.

“Santa Monica Airport", Tobin said. "And make it fast."

“Okay, here we go”, Abby hit the gas.

“There’s just one problem – we can’t arrest them”, Tobin said.

“What?” Abby asked, swerving in and out of cars.

“They’ve got Alex, and she’ll be dead in an hour or two unless we get to her.”

“Jesus”, Abby said as she put the pedal to the floorboard. They pulled up at Santa Monica airport thirty minutes later. Abby raced down the tarmac while her and Tobin looked for the Queens.

“There!” Tobin yelled, pointing towards the far side of the tarmac. She recognized the plane that she and the Queens had jumped out of this morning. “Drop me close and then circle behind them. I’ll go at them head-on.” Abby nodded and drove towards the plane, then slowed her speed. She dumped Tobin off on foot a few hundred yards away and then circled away. Tobin walked towards the plane. She could see Ashley and Amy loading gear onto the plane. Whitney wasn’t with them. Dammit, Tobin thought. She didn’t like Whitney running around where she couldn’t see her. Tobin got a bit closer to the plane and then whistled. Ashlyn and Amy looked up.

“I’m unarmed!” Tobin shouted, and spun around, lifting her shirt.

“But you’re not alone”, Ashlyn said, as Amy cocked a shotgun.

“No, I’m not”, Tobin said. “There’s a gun on you right now.”

Ashlyn stared at Tobin for a second and then laughed. “Really, Special Agent Heath? That’s the best you’ve got?” She shook her head and then said, “No, you’ve got your partner here, lurking around somewhere. She’d better Hope she doesn’t run into Whit”, Ashlyn said with a wink.

Tobin looked around quickly. No Abby and no Whitney. Then she looked back at Ashlyn. “I’ll make you a deal. You let Alex go and tell me where she is, and I’ll let you jump on this plane and fly away. You leave her alone, and I’ll leave you alone. We can wash our hands of each other, and that’ll be it.”

Ashlyn looked at Tobin and then smiled. “Nah, I don’t think so. Can’t trust your word, can I? Ms. “Undercover Surfer”, Ashlyn said in a taunting voice.

“Trust me as much as I trust you, Ms. Bank Robber and now cop killer”, Tobin came back.

“What?” Ashlyn said.

“Cop Killer. One of the security guards at the bank you just shot up is a cop too.” Tobin looked at Ashlyn and said, “You’re in some deep shit now, and this is your only way out of not spending the rest of your life behind bars.” Tobin looked at Amy and then said, “All of you.”

Amy stopped loading gear onto the plane. “Maybe you should tell her where Alex is, Ashlyn”, she said.

“No”, Ashlyn said. She fixed Amy with a hard stare, and Amy backed down. “Keep loading the gear.”

“Jesus Christ, Ashlyn! When will you fucking wake up?" Tobin yelled, exasperated. "People have died! The ride is over!” 

“Oh no no no, Tobin”, Ashlyn said, condescendingly. “The ride is not over until I say it’s over”, she said and then laughed. Tobin stared at her, and then saw Abby creeping up in the hanger behind them. Abby took aim and was just about to fire, when Tobin saw Whitney come out from behind Abby.

“Nooooooo!!!” Tobin screamed. Abby fired and hit Amy, just as Whitney fired and hit Abby. Amy fell to the ground, and Ashlyn ran over to her. Abby staggered but didn’t fall, and she turned around and fired, hitting Whitney in the stomach. Whitney went down as blood started to flow out of her stomach, but she managed to get one more shot on Abby, who fell over backwards.

“Oh my God”, Tobin said, as she knelt over Abby.

“G-g-get these a-a-assholes”, Abby stammered out through shattered breath.

“Hold on, partner”, Tobin said. “You’re going to make it.”

“N-n-no I’m not”, Abby whispered. She looked at Tobin. “G-g-go get Alex”, she said, and then her lights went out.

“Fuck!” Tobin screamed, as Ashlyn rushed over to Whitney.

“I’m okay”, Whitney said, as Ashlyn picked her up and carried her to the plane. The pilot had come out of the cockpit but Ashlyn had ordered him back in at gunpoint. Then she came back and stood over Tobin, who was kneeling over Abby’s dead body.

“C’mon Tobin”, Ashlyn said, pointing her gun at Tobin.

Tobin looked up at Ashlyn and her face twisted into a scowl. “I’m gonna fucking kill you”, she said.

“Maybe so, but not yet”, Ashlyn said. “We’ve both lost people, so we’re gonna ride this to the end, you and me, together”, she said. She ushered Tobin up and escorted her by gunpoint to the plane.


	20. Chapter 20

The plane flew south for about thirty minutes and then Ashlyn jumped on the radio.

“Road Dog, this is Eagle. Do you copy?”

“I copy”, came Christen’s voice through the radio.

“Do you see us?”

“I see you.”

“Alright, we’re preparing to jump. We should be on the ground in five minutes.”

“Copy that.”

How’s the package?” Ashlyn asked.

“Package is fine. See you in five”, Christen said. Ashlyn hung up and then started getting a jump rig onto Whitney.

“Let her go”, Tobin said to Ashlyn. Ashlyn didn’t respond, so Tobin grabbed her and spun her around. Ashlyn shoved the gun in Tobin’s face, but Tobin yelled anyway. “Let her go! Jesus Christ, Ashlyn. You got what you wanted. Let her go!” Ashlyn stared at Tobin for a moment and then went back to readying Whitney for the jump.

“I’m fucking freezing”, Whitney said to Ashlyn. Blood was still flowing out of Whitney’s stomach, and her face had turned white.

“That’s because you’re gonna die soon, Whitney”, Tobin said in a deadpanned voice. “I hope it was worth it.”

“Don’t listen to her, Whit. She’s just scared”, Ashlyn said. She draped the duffel bag full of money over Whitney’s shoulder and then dragged her towards the hatch. She opened up the hatch and then gave Whitney a kiss on the forehead. “I’ll see you on the ground, okay?” she said to Whitney. Whitney nodded, putting on a brave face, and Ashlyn said, “That’s my girl. Just think about all of those margaritas and senoritas that will be nursing you back to health, and you’ll be just fine on the ride down.” Whitney part-laughed/part-coughed, and then looked at Tobin. “See you in hell, Tobin!” she yelled, and then Ashlyn pushed her out of the plane. Ashlyn then put on her own jump rig and then looked at Tobin.

“Let her go, Ashlyn, please! You got what you wanted. You owe me that much!”

“Not until I’m safe”, Ashlyn said. Then she looked at Tobin and said, “I know you want me, Tobin. I know you want me so bad, it’s like salt in the wounds right now. But not this time, amiga.” She walked to the hatch and then smiled.

“How will I know when you let Alex go?” Tobin asked as Ashlyn readied herself for the jump. Ashlyn said nothing, but just waved, and right before she jumped, she threw the gun onto the floor of the plane next to Tobin, and then dove out of the plane.

“Fuck!” Tobin screamed, frustrated. She looked around the cabin. No rigs. She looked at Ashlyn, falling away from her towards the ground. She looked at the gun. No use trying to shoot Ashlyn. She was already out of range, and plus, even if she could manage to shoot Ashlyn, it wouldn’t help anyway, since having Ashlyn alive was necessary for getting Alex back. Not that Ashlyn was necessarily going to return Alex, but shooting Ashlyn would have ensured that Alex definitely wouldn’t return. Then Tobin thought about Alex, about how much her feelings had developed for the beautiful surfer girl, about everything she had put Alex through with her undercover deception, and what Alex was going through now, and in that moment she made a decision. I have to do whatever I can to save her, Tobin thought. She grabbed the gun, took a deep breath, and then jumped out of the plane. I must be fucking crazy, she thought as she fell through the sky. She saw Ashlyn below, spread eagle, and Tobin streamlined her own body and darted through the air. She went spread eagle herself as she got near Ashlyn, and then she wrapped her arms around Ashlyn’s chest as she collided into Ashlyn’s back.

“What the fuck!?” Ashlyn yelled, surprised. She turned around in Tobin’s arms so she was facing Tobin. With one arm Tobin put the gun to Ashlyn’s head, her other arm wrapped around Ashlyn’s body, holding on for dear life.

“Pull the chute, Ashlyn!”

“God, you’re fucking crazy, Tobin!”

“Pull the fucking chute!”

“No, you pull it!”

“I said pull it now!”

“Why don’t you?” Ashlyn asked. Tobin was silent. “It because you have to drop the gun to pull the chute, don't you? Otherwise, what are you going to hold on with?” Ashlyn taunted.

“Last warning, Ashlyn", Tobin yelled, pushing the gun into Ashlyn’s temple. "Pull the fucking chute!”

“No! You do it, Tobin. The ground’s getting closerrrrrrr”, Ashlyn said, and Tobin looked down to see the earth racing up towards them. “Ten, nine, eight” Ashlyn started counting down.

“Pull the fucking chute!” Tobin screamed.

“Seven, six, five, four, three”

“Goddammit!” Tobin screamed. She tossed the gun and pulled the chute. It took hold hold, slowing them down, but they were already close to the earth, and they both hit the ground as if they had jumped off of a two story building. Ashlyn yelled “Shiiiiiiiit”, as Tobin howled in pain as her bad knee gave way upon impact. They both laid still on the ground, Ashlyn wrapped up in her chute, Tobin sprawled out, grabbing her knee, in pain, five feet away.

“God damn, Tobin”, Ashlyn groaned as she got up and started to unbuckle her rig. “You are one radical bitch.” She looked over at Whitney, who was on the ground a hundred yards away. Whitney had managed to pull her chute, but she hadn’t survived the drop. Then Ashlyn looked over at the oncoming car, Christen driving, Alex in the trunk.

Tobin laid there, clutching her leg, in crippling pain and utter disbelief over what had just happened during the last minute and a half. Did I just fucking jump out of an airplane without a chute? She thought. And then she thought, that was the craziest, but maybe most exhilarating thing I’ve ever done. Did I just find myself and lose myself at the same time? Then she looked up and around, and her eyes found Ashlyn. God damn this woman, Tobin thought. She started to get up and then lunged at Ashlyn, but her knee buckled and she went down, hollering in pain.

“Maybe you would’ve been better off sticking to soccer instead of chasing bad guys, huh Tobin?” Ashlyn dryly joked. She stared at Tobin for a moment and then said, “Sorry dude. This game, we both lost.” The she turned around to the car that was pulling up. “Let her go!” she yelled to Christen. Christen got out of the car and unlocked the trunk. She removed Alex’s gag and cut her bonds.

“Tobin!” Alex yelled as she came sprinting towards Tobin.

“Alex!” Tobin breathed out. Alex approached Tobin and collided into her, wrapping her arms around her and burying her face in Tobin’s chest. Tears of joy and relief poured down her cheeks as Tobin held her close and stroked her hair. They stayed like that for a minute, and then Alex pulled away. She stared at Tobin through tear-soaked eyes and said, “I’m so so so so so so sorry, for everything, and I-“

“Shhhh…”, Tobin said. She put her finger to Alex’s lips. There would be plenty of time to talk later. All she cared about right now was that Alex was alive, unharmed and back with her. “Some other time”, she whispered, and then planted the most glorious kiss on Alex’s lips. Then she held Alex tight and watched Ashlyn and Christen drive by Whitney’s body, pick up the duffel full of money, and drive off into the distance.


	21. Chapter 21

Epilogue: Eight months later

“Hey baby, dinner’s ready”, Alex said. She looked over at Tobin, who was working at the coffee table in the living room. Tobin looked up, smiled, shut her laptop, and walked over to the kitchen table.

After Ashlyn and Christen had driven away, the pilot of the plane had called for help, and Jill had arrived to pick up Tobin and Alex. The next two weeks had been filled with cleaning up the messes and filing reports. Tobin had been in hot water, but when the facts of the case had started to come to light, Jill had realized that Abby’s theory of the Queens being surfers had been correct all along, and that Tobin had really been the only agent who had ever even gotten close to apprehending the suspects, so she told Tobin that she would support her for the rest of the investigation. Tobin, along with Lauren and Shannon, had stayed hard on the case, but Ashlyn and Christen had vanished like ghosts. 

“Looks delicious. Thank you, beautiful”, Tobin said, as they sat down to eat. After they had been rescued, Tobin and Alex had spent the first month together, never leaving each others side, save for Tobin going to work. Alex had taken a leave from the lunch shack and had been surfing as much as possible when Tobin was at work. On Tobin’s days off, Tobin and Alex had gone surfing together. They had been spending their nights eating in and cuddling on the couch, Tobin holding Alex and telling her that she was never going to let her go. A few months ago, after realizing they were spending every possible moment together, Tobin and Alex decided to move in together. They had found a nice two-bedroom apartment in Venice Beach. It was a bit far from the FBI office in downtown Los Angeles, but Alex had really wanted to stay by the beach, so Tobin had acquiesced. Plus, her newfound attitude was moving towards working to live, not living to work, and not structuring everything in her life around work. Alex had gone back to working part-time at the lunch shack, but she still spent most of her time surfing or just hanging out at the beach. Tobin was still working full-time, but with increasing frequency she had been thinking about leaving the FBI. It was a high-burn profession, and through the Queens case Tobin had learned that there was more to life than just making a name for herself in the Bureau. She had been considering finding another profession, but there was one more thing she needed to do before she could move on.

“So, how’s work going? Alex asked as they started in on the chicken spinach lasagna that Alex had made.

“It’s okay”, Tobin said as she looked up at her girlfriend. “I mean, you know I’ve been thinking about moving on, finding something else.”

“So, why don’t you?” Alex asked. “You can work with me at the lunch shack”, she said and then giggled. 

Tobin smiled at her. “Sounds nice, actually”, she said, thinking about how a life without asshole bosses and bad guys sounded very appealing. Then she put down her fork and grabbed Alex’s hand. “But, beautiful, you know…there’s just one more thing I have to do.”

Alex stared at Tobin with her big, beautiful eyes. “Do you really have to, baby?”

“I do”, Tobin said. “Look, Lex – I promise, I’ll be safe. I won’t be the one in the field. That’s provided I’m even right, and that she’s even there, and that we can even find her.”

“But I just don’t get why we can’t just be done with that whole thing”, Alex said. “I mean, we’ve talked so much in the last eight months about leaving that all behind us. And you said the trail has gone cold anyway. I mean, Press is dead, right?”

"Yeah. Press is dead", Tobin said. Christen’s body had been found in a roadside ditch four months ago in Baja. She had been stabbed twenty-seven times. Possible drug running deal gone bad, but they never found out for sure. “But Ashlyn is still out there”, Tobin said. “Look, baby – I know we have spoken about leaving this all behind us, and if it had ended up just being between me and Ashlyn, then I may have been agreeable to that. But she kidnapped you. She threatened you. And I can’t let that slide.”

“Please, Tobin”, Alex said. “I know she kidnapped and threatened me, but that’s in the past. Hey - it’s me that she took, not you, and I’m willing to let it go.”

“I know, but I can’t”, Tobin said. “Baby – I promise you, I’ll be careful. I’ll work with the local authorities, and they can be on the front lines for this. And I promise you, if Ashlyn isn’t there, then I will walk away. But please – just let me go follow this one last hunch, and if she’s not there, then I will walk away for good.” Alex smiled slightly but didn’t say anything, so Tobin got up out of her seat. She straddled Alex and then planted a kiss on her lips. “Look, baby – she threatened you. She needs to go down. Please, just give me this one last chance to get – to help get - her.”

Alex stared at Tobin for a moment and then said, “Okay, baby. But please, please, please, Tobin – please be careful. I’m going to miss you while you’re gone, and I don’t want to have to keep missing you because you don't come back.” Tobin smiled reassuringly at Alex and then pulled her in for a long kiss.

   
********  
 

The rain pelted the car as Tobin parked in the lot at Bells Beach, Australia. She got out of her car and looked around. There were just a few other cars in the parking lot. The wind whipped by her, turning the rain into stinging pellets. Tobin pulled up her hoodie and then took a look at the ocean as she started walking towards the beach. Waves as tall as an eight story building crashed just a hundred yards offshore. Tobin had never seen such a violent frenzy of water. She kept walking and ran into a few people on their way back up from the beach to the parking lot.

“Anyone been out there?” Tobin asked the passersby.

“No one’s been out and no one’s going out”, one man said. “You gotta be fuckin’ crazy to even think about it. Death on a stick out there, mate!”

Tobin thanked the man and continued on her way towards the beach. She scanned the shoreline in front of her and spotted a lone figure on the sand. She squinted her eyes and shielded them from the rain, and her blood ran cold. The figure was female, tall and muscular. Blonde hair whipped behind her head in the howling wind. Ashlyn. Tobin hit the sand and walked up behind Ashlyn, and as she got close, she reached into her hoodie pocket and pulled out Ashlyn’s Elizabeth mask. She threw it on the sand at Ashlyn’s feet and then walked up beside her. Ashlyn stared at the mask for a moment and then addressed Tobin.

“Special Agent Heath”, Ashlyn said as Tobin walked up beside her. “I knew I could count on you.”

“I’ve been to every city in Mexico looking for you”, Tobin began. “Came across a gutted carcass in Baja which turned out to be Press. Guess she picked a knife fight with the wrong people. I found a passport of yours in Sumatra. Missed you by about a week in Fiji. But I knew you wouldn’t miss this. The Fifty Year Storm.”

“Yep, take a look at it”, Ashlyn said in a reverent voice.

Tobin stared at the monstrous walls of water for a moment and then said, “It’s too bad, Ashlyn. You finally got your wish, and it’s totally closed out. Not a rideable wave in sight.”

“It’ll come. Just waiting for my set”, Ashlyn said. She stared at the water for another moment and then looked at Tobin. “Still surfing?”

“Everyday”, Tobin said, and Ashlyn smiled almost warmly at her. Tobin smiled back for a moment, and then her smile dropped. “C’mon, Ashlyn, it’s time to go.” She lightly grabbed Ashlyn’s arm and started to walk, but Ashlyn didn’t move. “C’mon, Ashlyn, the ride is over. People trusted you and they died. Let’s go.”

Ashlyn stared at the water for another moment and then turned to Tobin. She stared at Tobin for a moment and then smiled a small, sly smile. “Nah, I don’t think so”, she said. She turned her back on Tobin and walked towards her board. Tobin stared at Ashlyn for a moment and then charged her, tackling her to the ground. Ashlyn fought her off and got up, and the two women squared off against each other.

“You gotta go down!” Tobin yelled.

“Well, then you’re gonna have to take me down!” Ashlyn yelled back. Tobin charged again, and Ashlyn grabbed her arms, rolled backwards onto her own back and flipped Tobin into the air. Tobin landed on her back, and Ashlyn pounced on top of her. She rained down three solid punches, but Tobin was able to grab her hands, weasel her legs between her and Ashlyn and drive her heel into Ashlyn’s face. Ashlyn howled as a few teeth went loose, and then Tobin, keeping a hold of Ashlyn’s hands, flipped Ashlyn over onto her back, then threw down three solid elbow strikes to Ashlyn’s face. Ashlyn’s nose shattered and blood shot everywhere. Tobin went for a chokehold, but Ashlyn threw sand in Tobin’s eyes. Tobin cursed and let go of her hold, and Ashlyn grabbed Tobin by her hoodie and threw her off. Both women got up to their feet, but Ashlyn was up first and launched a powerful kick to Tobin’s chest, sending Tobin sprawling into the water. Tobin landed flat on her back, and Ashlyn jumped on top of her. Ashlyn’s knee landed straight into Tobin’s gut, and Ashlyn felt Tobin’s wind give way. Then she grabbed Tobin’s neck with both hands, looking to choke the life out of her. She felt Tobin writhe in her hands, Tobin's head under water, and Ashlyn was thinking 'just a few more seconds' when she felt something cold and hard go around her wrist. Instinctively she loosened the pressure of her hold and removed her hands from Tobin’s neck, and when she withdrew her hands from the water she became aware that the gleaming chrome of a handcuff now adorned one of her wrists. The other handcuff was attached to Tobin. She stood up in shock, and in doing so, hauled Tobin up out of the water with her. Ashlyn stared at her wrist, now attached to Tobin, and a steel band closed around her heart.

“Nooooooo!!!” she screamed.

“I told them you’d go quietly”, Tobin wheezed out, spitting up water, still trying to catch her breath. She looked at Ashlyn and then flicked her eyes to the parking lot, where three cars of Bells Beach’s finest were pulling up.

“Nooooooooooooo!!!” Ashlyn screamed again. She glared at Tobin and then said, “You gotta let me go. You know there’s no way I can handle the cage.”

“I don’t care!” Tobin yelled. “You threatened Alex, asshole!”

“I was never going to do anything to her. You gotta know that! I was just bluffing.”

Tobin stared at Ashlyn, and then her anger got the better of her, and she socked Ashlyn in the face. Ashlyn yelped "Owww!!!" and went down to one knee, and Tobin kicked her in the stomach. “That’s for putting Alex's life in danger, asshole.”

“I swear, Tobin. I was never going to harm her.”

“Well, you sure had me fooled. And you scared the living shit out of her, not to mention all of the other people you’ve traumatized, holding them at gunpoint while you robbed their bank.” Ashlyn stared at her, and Tobin plowed on. “Well, I guess none of that matters now, does it? You’re going to prison forever, Ashlyn.”

Ashlyn looked at Tobin, a frightened expression on her face. Then she stood up and looked at Tobin, and her expression resolved to a Zen-like calm. “You got me. You got me, Tobin. I’m going to go away. And you’re gonna be a hero. Good for you.”

“It’s not for me, Ashlyn. It’s for Alex and everyone else you’ve terrorized.”

Ashlyn stared at Tobin and then nodded. “Yes, I have done wrong to people. And I need to pay for that.” Then she looked at the ocean. “But don’t put me in the cage.”

“Well, you’re not going free, I can fucking tell you that right now.”

“You don’t need to set me free”, Ashlyn said, looking back at Tobin. “Just send me out there”, she said, looking at the ocean again.

“What?” Tobin asked, not sure if she heard Ashlyn correctly.

“Just send me out there”, Ashlyn said again. “One ride. That’s all I want.” She stared at Tobin, and when Tobin didn’t answer Ashlyn said, “C’mon Tobin! You don’t think I’m gonna try to escape do you? I mean, eighty foot walls coming at us, cliffs on both sides of this beach…I’m not gonna paddle to New Zealand!”

“Why the fuck should I let you go out, huh?” Tobin spat. “I don’t owe you anything!”

“But you know the power, Tobin. The power of riding waves.” Ashlyn looked at the ocean and said, “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. My whole life has been about this moment.” Then she looked at Tobin and said, “C’mon, dude. You know what’s gonna happen if I paddle out there. It’s gonna be a one way ride.” She paused for a moment and then said. “Either here, or in the cage – you’ll be rid of me, forever. This way, I won’t waste any taxpayer dollars.” Ashlyn held up her wrist that was attached to the handcuff and looked expectantly at Tobin.

Tobin stared at Ashlyn. On the one hand, she wanted Ashlyn to rot in prison, to suffer for what she had done. But on the other hand, Ashlyn had saved her life. If Tobin was honest with herself, Hope and her crew would have put Tobin in the hospital if Ashlyn hadn’t showed up. And Ashlyn and her had connected on surfing, something that now Tobin couldn’t imagine her life without. Plus, Ashlyn was right – there was no way she was coming back alive if she paddled out, and whether she died here or in prison, she wouldn’t be robbing any more banks or doing anyone any more harm ever again. Tobin stared at Ashlyn and then asked, “You truly weren’t going to harm Alex?” she asked.

“Truly”, Ashlyn said. “I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I had. I just took her to get you to come with me. I could have called Press anytime and told her to let Alex go.”

Tobin stared at Ashlyn for a moment and then said, “Alright”. She unlocked the handcuff from Ashlyn’s wrist and then reared back and leveled Ashlyn with a roundhouse punch to the face. “That’s for putting Alex through that shit”, Tobin said as Ashlyn hit the sand.

“Alright, I deserve that”, Ashlyn said, wincing in pain.

Tobin stared at Ashlyn for a moment and then said, “Now, go take your ride.”

Ashlyn got up to her knees, still wincing. Then she looked up the beach to see the police heading towards her.

“I’d get moving if I was you”, Tobin said. Ashlyn looked at her for a moment and then nodded. She turned away from Tobin and then walked towards her board. She grabbed it, then looked at the giant walls of water for one more moment, and then charged into the water and paddled out. Tobin stared into the water as Ashlyn grew smaller and smaller, paddling into the massive swell.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” the police captain yelled at Tobin as he and his men stormed onto the sand. When Tobin didn’t answer, the captain yelled to his men, “Spread out! Ten meters apart. We’ll get her when she comes back in.”

Tobin watched as a giant wave just beyond Ashlyn started to crest. Ashlyn started paddling and then stood up right as the wave broke. She rode for about three seconds, and then the wave collapsed on top of her. She fell off her board and then plummeted down eight stories, hitting the bottom of the trough, and then eighty feet of water came crushing down on her. Tobin stared for a moment longer, looking for Ashlyn, but there was no sign.

“She’s not coming back”, Tobin said to the captain. Then she started walking towards the parking lot.

“What the fuck, Heath?! I’m gonna report you!” He yelled as she walked away.

Tobin walked for a few more feet and then turned around to face the captain. “Don’t bother. I’m not coming back, either”, she said. She fished out her FBI badge and threw it into the water, then turned around and headed back towards her car.


End file.
